Study for the Young Sabot Maker

Henry Ossawa Tanner, Study for the Young Sabot Maker, ca. 1895, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, 1983.95.208
Copied Henry Ossawa Tanner, Study for the Young Sabot Maker, ca. 1895, oil on canvas, 16 1⁄4 x 13 in. (41.3 x 33.0 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, 1983.95.208
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Study for the Young Sabot Maker
Artist
Date
ca. 1895
Location
Dimensions
16 1⁄4 x 13 in. (41.3 x 33.0 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Occupation — craft — shoemaker
  • Figure male — child
  • Figure group — male and child
Object Number
1983.95.208
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1983.95.208

Artwork Description

After Henry Ossawa Tanner moved to France in 1891, he spent a few summers in Pont-Aven and Concarneau, where wooden shoes called sabots were common. This study shows a young student learning the trade from his teacher, a frequent theme in Tanner’s early work. In the final painting the young sabot-maker is not French but African American, reflecting Tanner’s own racial heritage. The Young Sabot Maker was his second painting to be accepted by the annual Paris exhibition, a coveted sign of official recognition from the French art establishment.