Study for the Bagpipe Lesson

Henry Ossawa Tanner, Study for the Bagpipe Lesson, 1892, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, 1983.95.42
Copied 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
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
Mediums Description
oil on paperboard
Classifications
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.