VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents the exhibition Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit, October 21, 2012 through January 13, 2013, in the Audrey Jones Beck Building.

This major exhibition delves into the life and career of Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859–1937), the first internationally renowned African American artist. A survey of more than 100 works, Modern Spirit includes 12 paintings that have never been shown in a Tanner retrospective, as well as the only two known sculptures that Tanner completed.

Also featured is the artist’s famed Resurrection of Lazarus, a career-making canvas on loan from the collection of the Musée d'Orsay that earned Tanner his first international praise in 1897. The painting had never crossed the Atlantic before this exhibition, which concludes its U.S. tour at the MFAH.

Modern Spirit follows Tanner's journey from his upbringing and training in Philadelphia after the Civil War; to Paris, where he joined the expatriate community of artists in the late 19th century, showing frequently at the Paris Salon and mentoring other African American artists; to his success at the highest levels of the international art world at the turn of the 20th century.

The story continues with Tanner's unique contributions in aid of servicemen during World War I through the Red Cross in France; his Modernist invigoration of religious painting deeply rooted in his own faith; and his depictions of the Holy Land and North Africa. The exhibition also presents the first scientific and technical analysis of Tanner's artistic materials and methods.

Accompanying the show is the most substantial scholarly catalogue to date on Tanner’s life and work. The book includes 14 essays written by scholars from the United States and France.

This exhibition is organized by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Exhibition Presenting Foundation sponsors: The Terra Foundation for American Art and the Henry Luce Foundation. This exhibition has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Leading support from the Mr. & Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, Inc. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition and publication do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Pictured above: Henry Ossawa Tanner, Christ and His Mother Studying the Scriptures, c. 1909, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Deaccession Funds.