Henry Ossawa Tanner: A Spiritual Biography

by Marcus C. Bruce

Henry Ossawa Tanner is a turn-of-the-century African-American painter who achieved great success in France and is now becoming even more famous in the U.S. Alongside the landscapes that brought him... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0824519728
• ISBN13: 9780824519728
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: Crossroad Publishing
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent biography of a great artist

One of the most stunning moments in my art-watching career came many years ago in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, when I suddenly came upon Henry Tanner's painting "The Annunciation." I remained transfixed for many minutes. It remains my favorite religious painting of the last couple of centuries. I soon learned that the artist was the first African-American to make it to the artistic top, the stratospheric heights of French Salon shows and membership in the American National Academy of Design. Tanner was almost forgotten for a long time, but there is a flock of webpages and internet resources on him now, as well as this wonderful biography. Marcus Bruce has written a brief book that lays out Tanner's lifecourse, centering on the religious and spiritual side, which was, in fact, Tanner's true focus. (Tanner, a minister's son, remained deeply religious all his life.) This book is not only clear and authoritative; it has some of the most insightful art criticism that I have seen. Bruce is far from the "in the right corner we see a dog" school of art writing. He describes the paintings in relation to Tanner's spiritual quest, and Tanner's vision of the world and humanity. His account of my beloved "Annunciation" is a real masterpiece. My only complaint with this book (besides sloppy editing--there are too many typos) is that it is too short and does not have color pictures! I hope, even pray, that Dr. Bruce will go on to do a full-scale, large-format art book about Henry Tanner, with the major works in full color. Tanner certainly deserves it--he still has not received the recognition he deserves--and Bruce is the man to do it.