Luce Foundation Center

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Open daily, 11:30 a.m.–7 p.m.

The nation’s first collection of American art, an unparalleled record of the American experience.

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Renwick Gallery Stairwwell

Renwick Gallery

Open daily, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

Located just feet from the White House, a branch of the museum that is home the nation's collection of contemporary craft and decorative art.

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How Do I Research My Art?

Want to learn more about the painting you found while clearing out the attic? For answers, be prepared for a little detective work.

How to Care for Your Collections

Regardless of the monetary value of your artwork, if it is personally meaningful, you should consider having the object conserved.

Recording a Changing Nation

This resource uses images from photographic surveys in 55 communities in 30 states across the United States as source documents to spark sustained inquiry.

Critical Thinking in Action

These 60-to-95-minute units pair thinking patterns with works of art to instill a thinking disposition transferable across classroom curriculum and into the wider world.

Director’s Circle

A national membership group of museum friends who share a love of American art and craft and our commitment to celebrating the extraordinary creativity of our nation’s artists.

A membership group for young professionals who are interested in immersing themselves in the American art experience.

And He Disappeared out of Their Sight

Media - 1983.95.200 - SAAM-1983.95.200_2 - 135425

Copied Henry Ossawa Tanner, And He Disappeared out of Their Sight, ca. 1898, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, 1983.95.200

Free to use

Artwork Details

Title: And He Disappeared out of Their Sight
Artist: Henry Ossawa Tanner
Date: ca. 1898
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
Luce Foundation Center
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3rd Floor
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11B
Dimensions: 10 ⁵⁄₈ x 13 ³⁄₄ in. (27.1 x 35.0 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on plywood
Classifications: Painting
Keywords: Religion — New Testament — Supper at Emmaus
Religion — New Testament — Christ
Religion — New Testament — disciple
Object Number: 1983.95.200
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1983.95.200

Artwork Description

The son of a minister, Henry Ossawa Tanner dedicated himself to painting religious subjects, and his trips to the Holy Land in 1897 and 1898 helped to inspire his work. This scene from the Gospel of Luke shows the resurrected Christ and two of his disciples sitting down to dinner. His followers do not recognize Jesus until he blesses the bread and disappears, leaving only a shadow to represent his ever-present spirit.