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Henry Ossawa Tanner (June 21, 1859–May 25, 1937) was an African American painter who studied with Thomas Eakins. Tanner was the first African American artist to reach international acclaim, as well.

Early life
Tanner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Benjamin Tucker, a minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Sarah Miller Tanner, a private school teacher. He was the oldest of nine children. In 1864, Tanner and his family moved to Philadelphia where his artistic interests developed. When he was thirteen, Tanner decided to become an artist when he saw a painter in Fairmount Park near his home. Initially self taught, Tanner began to draw constantly in his free time and also tried to observe other artists' work in art galleries in Philadelphia. In 1879, Tanner enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and studied under Thomas Eakins, remaining a student until 1885

Career
In 1886, Tanner opened his own studio in Philadelphia. After moving to Atlanta and a failed attempt at opening a photography studio, Tanner taught drawing at Clark University in Atlanta. Tanner later traveled to France in 1891 where he studied under Jean-Paul Laurens at the Academie Julian and joined the American Art Students Club of Paris.

Finally, in 1893 Tanner painted "The Banjo Lesson", a part of his initial period of painting black genre paintings, after a brief return to Philadelphia and then moved back to Paris in 1895 in an effort to escape discrimination in America. After moving to Paris, Tanner drew upon his religious background to paint more religious subjects

Painting style
Tanner is often regarded as a realist painter, focusing on accurate depictions of subjects instead of using interpretations. While his early works, such as "The Banjo Lesson" focused on everyday life as an African-American, Tanner's later paintings mainly focused on religious subjects, for which he is best known.