Fishermen at Sea

Henry Ossawa Tanner, Fishermen at Sea, ca. 1913, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Jesse O. Tanner, 1983.95.215
Henry Ossawa Tanner, Fishermen at Sea, ca. 1913, oil on canvas, 46 x 35 1⁄4 in. (116.9 x 89.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Jesse O. Tanner, 1983.95.215
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Artwork Details

Title
Fishermen at Sea
Artist
Date
ca. 1913
Location
Dimensions
46 x 35 1⁄4 in. (116.9 x 89.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Jesse O. Tanner
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Waterscape — sea
  • Occupation — industry — fishing
  • Figure group — male
  • Architecture — boat — sailboat
Object Number
1983.95.215
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1983.95.215

Artwork Description

Conservators discovered this painting on the back of Henry Ossawa Tanner’s Salome during restoration. Early in his career, Tanner painted marine scenes that showed man’s struggle with the sea, but by 1895 he was creating mostly religious works. In this painting, Tanner depicted a passage described in the book of Matthew: "But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary." The surging sea pushes the boat to an almost vertical position, revealing the fishermen that Tanner rendered as dabs of paint.

Works by this artist (16 items)

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Robert Motherwell, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, 1973, color lithograph poster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Telamon Editions Limited, 1976.152.2
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
Artist
Date1973
color lithograph poster
Not on view
Robert Motherwell, Untitled, from the portfolio Ten Works x Ten Painters, 1964, color screenprint and collage on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1965.37.1D, © 1964, Wadsworth Atheneum
Untitled, from the portfolio Ten Works x Ten Painters
Artist
Date1964
color screenprint and collage on paper
Not on view
Robert Motherwell, Capriccio, 1961, color collotype and photo-silkscreen on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1965.47
Capriccio
Artist
Date1961
color collotype and photo-silkscreen on paper
Not on view
Robert Motherwell, Untitled, 1966, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Woodward Foundation, 1976.108.88
Untitled
Artist
Date1966
lithograph on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

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W. G. Williams, President and Mrs. Eisenhower, May 12, 1955, oil on canvas and embossed paper with fabric and paper collage and plastic pearls, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1989.78.1
President and Mrs. Eisenhower
Artist
DateMay 12, 1955
oil on canvas and embossed paper with fabric and paper collage and plastic pearls
Not on view
Charles Coiner, "No barriers, no masses of matter however enormous, can withstand the powers of the mind; the remotest corners yield to them; all things succumb; the very Heaven itself is laid open."--Marcus Manilius, Astronomica, 40 B.C. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man., 1961, oil and cut paper on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.69
“No barriers, no masses of matter however enormous, can…
Artist
Date1961
oil and cut paper on canvas
Not on view
Gregory Gillespie, Landscape with Perspective, 1975, oil and acrylic on paper collage mounted on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.91
Landscape with Perspective
Artist
Date1975
oil and acrylic on paper collage mounted on wood
Not on view
Dana Smith, Woman in Interior, ca. 1900, oil and lithographed paper on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.139
Woman in Interior
Artist
Dateca. 1900
oil and lithographed paper on canvas
Not on view