The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1914-08-15
PROMINENT AMONG
WORLDS ARTISTS
Henry 0. Tanners Paintings
Win High Praise
MASTER OF HIS PROFESSION


Former Pittsburgh Boy, Whose Re-
cent Picture, ~JSSus at the House Of
Lazarus" Created Big Sensation In
Worlds Art Metropolis.
Of the American artists who are seek
Ing fame at the worlds art metropolis.
Paris, it has remained for an American
Negro to carry of the prize, says the
St Louis Post Dispatch.
He Is a son Of a bishop OF the Afri-
can Methodist Episcopal church. His
name is Henry o. Tanner. His 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 men
don his name in any assemblage Of
American cOnnoisseurs Is 70 receive a
frank stare Of ignorance. To mention
his name in an assembIage Of Euro
pean artists is to encounter at once
frank acknowledgment that you are
speaking Of present day master.
He was born in 1852 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
dentalIy in these words: "a picture by
II. o. 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
strokes. which. when seen from near
by, resemble a 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 n worker. He
works diligently and with a good will.
but he produces only two or three can
vases a year. Because / paint labori-
ously.' he said with a charming mod
esty. I should rather say 'scrupulous-
ly.' He reflects long upon a subject
until be is permeated with the spirit
Of II. He searches out its intimate
poetry. at the same time carefully
studyin. its psychological aspect, and
even after the general effect has been
established he returns to II again and
again. tireleSsly seeking to improve
upon il. 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 irritability in her face
and that Martha seems to be bringing
In a 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 II does the first.
that the Lazarus is a portrait OF the
artist himself and that the other fig
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 hillside. he
was then five years old. That night
he took a piece Of awning from the
back Of kitchen door for canvas
and the back of an old geography. with
a hole jabbed through 1t for his thumb,
as a palette He tried to mix some
coIors on the geography hack with but
Indifferent success
Later he made the acquaintance OF
c. II. Shearer. prominent Philadel-
pbja' artist. through whose friendship
and influence he WIS admitted to the
PHILADELPHIA SchUOl OF Fine Arts. Fl
paIIy. in 1891. after many viciSSitudea
and mur b living on starvation rations,
no had accumulated enough money 10
take him to Europe He started for
Paris Jan. 4. 1891.
He lived very frugally in the French
rapitaI. studying at the Academic Ju-
ian. He struggled along unnOticed
until a sketch. very much TO bis Own
sunrise. won him a prize In an annual
competition. For many years be was
confronted 10y the most disheartening
obstacles. He lived on even less than
had marked the starvation time" In
the United states. BE got typhoid re-
ver and almost died. After a brief
visit 10 Philadelphia be returned to
Paris. Then he painted his first great
nicture. Daniel In the Lions Den