The Fisherman’s Return

Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Fisherman's Return, n.d., oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Nicholas Zervas, 1983.95.212
Copied Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Fisherman's Return, n.d., oil on canvas, 25 1⁄2 x 19 1⁄4 in. (64.8 x 49.0 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Nicholas Zervas, 1983.95.212
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
The Fisherman’s Return
Artist
Date
n.d.
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
25 1⁄2 x 19 1⁄4 in. (64.8 x 49.0 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. Nicholas Zervas
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group
  • Landscape — time — night
  • Occupation — industry — fishing
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — cottage
  • Object — other — lantern
Object Number
1983.95.212
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1983.95.212

Artwork Description

The Fisherman's Return is one of two studies that Henry Ossawa Tanner created for a work titled Night, in which a fisherman and his son return home by lantern light. Beginning in the summer of 1900, the artist spent his vacations at Etaples, off the northern coast of France. Tanner may have painted this work as an homage to his father, a minister whom he greatly admired and who had praised him for dedicating his talents to religious images.