Study for the Bagpipe Lesson

Henry Ossawa Tanner, Study for the Bagpipe Lesson, 1892, oil on paperboard, sheet: 5 x 5 ¹⁵⁄₁₆ in. (12.7 x 15.1 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, 1983.95.42

Free to use

Artwork Details

Title: Study for the Bagpipe Lesson
Artist: Henry Ossawa Tanner
Date: 1892
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: sheet: 5 x 5 ¹⁵⁄₁₆ in. (12.7 x 15.1 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on paperboard
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Figure — child — waist length
Landscape — forest
Study
Object Number: 1983.95.42
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1983.95.42

Artwork Description

This study shows a boy practicing the bagpipe, but for the final version, Henry Ossawa Tanner added a teacher and two more figures. Bagpipe players were common in the French region of Pont-Aven and Concarneau, where Tanner spent his summers in the 1890s. Here, he used bold colors and loose brushwork to capture the scene. Tanner entered a finished version in the annual Paris exhibition, but it was rejected; the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, however, accepted it for their yearly show.