Tanner, Henry Ossawa

(born June 21, 1859, Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.—died May 25, 1937, Paris, France) U.S. painter. He studied under Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he was the only black student. He moved to Paris in 1891, and by 1894 his work was being exhibited at the annual Salons, where he was awarded honourable mention in 1896 for Daniel in the Lions' Den and won a medal in 1897 for his Raising of Lazarus. He gained international acclaim and many awards for his landscapes and his treatments of biblical themes. He was made a chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1923, and in 1927 he became the first African American granted full membership in the National Academy of Design.

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