Hope you enjoy this reblog from 2017 about African American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner. FYI, in 2020, Hyperallergic.com shared a story noting rare film footage of the artist. https://hyperallergic.com/590970/henry-ossawa-tanner-rare-footage/
Editorial note: This post was written in part in response to the current Presidential administration’s recent remarks this Black History Month, and its seeming lack of knowledge regarding black history in this country. It is also written to share in brief the life and work of an artist whose work I have always admired.
Henry Ossawa Tanner 1859-1937
Henry Ossawa Tanner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1859 and grew up in Philadelphia. Tanner’s father, who happened to be a friend of Frederick Douglass, was a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal church. Tanner’s mother, who had escaped slavery in Virginia via the Underground Railroad, taught private school in the home. Both staunch believers in education, they made sure their son, the eldest in a large family, was well-educated and prepared for a successful career in a conventional job.
The Tanner Family
Tanner had a slightly alternative idea. He too wanted to be successful and
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Words + Images 
Thank you for sharing this article.
You’re welcome.