During the 19th and 20th century many artist began to emerge and change the way art was viewed. Henry Ossawa Tanner was a ground breaking artist for many reasons. As one of the first African American artist Henry was able to open the door for many more painters like him. Tanner contributed to the realist art movement and added a flair that was never seen before. He is considered the most distinguished African American artist of his time.
Henry Ossawa Tanner was born June 21, 1859 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. He was the son of a minister named Benjamin Tucker and a school teacher Sarah Miller Tanner. He was the oldest of their nine children. As a young boy Tanner and his family moved to Philadelphia where he grew up. Both of Tanners parents were considered educated and felt strongly about educating their children. Tanners’ father even obtained a college degree. Tanners parents made sure he was able to go to a good school as a child. He attended the Robert Vaux School. This was an all-black institution that offered Tanner a liberal arts curriculum.
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Without his training he would not have arrived at maturity in his art technique and skill. As an African American in the 19th and 20th century it was more difficult to get others to want to work with him. Despite his disadvantage Tanner still decided to enroll in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He was the only African American student at that time. Tanner was able to be taught by Eakins which was great because Eakins was a very open-minded and progressive. Eakins was interested in ground breaking methods of painting art and Tanner happened to be one his favorite students so he was able to learn a lot. Tanner was able to learn about anatomy, weight and structure of the human body Along with Eakins, Tanner established a few other relationships with artist at the Academy that he maintained for the rest of his