The broad ax., 1914-08-08
PROMINENT AMONG
WORLDS ARTISTS
Henry 0. Tanners Paintings
Win High Praise
MASTER OF HIS PROFESSION

cent Picture, Jesus at the House Of
Lazarus" Created Big Sensation In
Worlds Art Metropolis.
VI the American artists who are seek
Ing fame at the worlds art metropolis,
Paris, Ii has remained for an American
Negro to carry OF the prize. says the
st. Louis Pest-Dispatch.
He is a son OF a bishop Of the Afri-
can Methodist Episcopal church. His
name is Henry D. Tanner. bis salon
picture. over which the European crit
les are enthusiastic. is called Jesus at
the House Of Lazarus"
The old Biblical saw that a prophet
Is not without honor but In his own
country has been we'll borne out In
the case of Henry o. Tanner. To mep-
hon his name in any assemblage OF
American cOnnOisseurs Is to receive q
frank stare Of ignorance To mention
his name In an assemblage Of Euro
pean artists Is to encounter at once
frank acknowledgment that you are
speaking Of present day master.
He was born in 1859. For more than
a quarter of a century he has been
painting industriOusly. and many Of
his best canvaSes are hung In leading
museums both here and abroad. Yet
none of the recent books on American
artists more than mention him. One
work OF this kind refers to him Incl
dentally In these words: "A picture by
II. D. Tanner. painted with all the
oriental surroundings, but with strong
religious feeling"
This writer says:
His work is curious technically.
We stand before a knowledge. solid
and sure Of itself. The weighty
strokes. which. when seen from near
by. resemble veneer Of mahogany.
evidently come from a flowing and
unctuOus brush. Through the thick
paint there plays a soft light which
models the outlines in chiaroscuro."
Another critic said Of him: Mr.. Tan
ner Is a dreamer and a worker. He
works diligently and with a good will,
but he produces only two or three can
vases G year. Because | paint labOri
ously.' be said with a charming mod
esty. I should rather say 'scrupulous-
ly.' He reflects long upon a subject
until he is permeated with the spirit
Of 1t. He searches out its intimate
poetry. ut the same time carefully
studying its psychological aspect, and
even after the general effect has been
established he returns to 1t again and
again. tireleSsly seeking to improve
upon It | find in his talent some
thing OF the genius OF Rembrandt"
In striking contrast to the judgment
Of this critic who can liken Tanner
only to the great Rembrandt are the
things written about the artist by
American critics. Unable to gainsay
that his Jesus at the House OF LaZa-
rus" is by far the premier among all
the exhibitions Of American artists at
the Paris salon this year one Of them
can find little more to say Of the pic
ture than that the Mary In the picture
only expresses lrritability In her face
and that Martha seems to be bringing
In dish OF ice cream. This critic pre-
tends to find many other ''anachron-
isms." He thinks that the interior OF
Lazarus house suggests the nineteenth
century more than 1t does the first,
that the Lazarus is q portrait OF the
artist himself and that the other hg-
ures In the picture are portraits Of
modern persons.
The story Of Tanners life Is within
itself interesting. he was born in
Pittsburgh, his father being a leading
Negro ecclesiastic. One afternoon he
was walking with the bishop in a
Philadelphia park when he saw an
artist at work painting a hillside. he
was then five years old. That night
he took d piece Of awning from the
back of kitchen door for a canvas
and the back Of an old geography, with
a hole jablIed through II for his thumb,
as q palette He tried to mix some
colors on the geography back with but
Indifferent success
Later he mode the acquaintance OF
c. II. Shearpr. a prominent Philadel-
phia artist. through whose friendship
and Influence be WIS admitted To the
Philadelphia School Of Fine Arts. Fl
naIly. IN 1871. after many vicisSitudeh
and mu, h living on starvation ratiOns.
he had accumulated enough money to
take him to Europe He started for
Paris Jan. I. 1891.
He lived very frugally in the French
capitaI. studying ut the Academic Ju-
Iian lie struggled along unnOticed
until sketch. very much to his own
SUNRISE. won him a prize in an annual
competition. For many years he was
confronted 10y the most disheartening
obstacles. lie lived on even less than
had marked the starvation time" In
the United States. He got typhoid fe-
yer and almost died. After a brief
visit to Philadelphia he returned to
Paris. Then he painted his FIRST great