Mother of Henry O. Tanner

Henry Ossawa Tanner, Mother of Henry O. Tanner, n.d., oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Nicholas Zervas, 1983.95.213
Copied Henry Ossawa Tanner, Mother of Henry O. Tanner, n.d., oil on plywood, 139 14 in. (33.023.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Nicholas Zervas, 1983.95.213
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Mother of Henry O. Tanner
Date
n.d.
Dimensions
139 14 in. (33.023.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. Nicholas Zervas
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on plywood
Classifications
Keywords
  • Portrait female — Tanner, — bust
Object Number
1983.95.213

Artwork Description

Henry Ossawa Tanner’s mother, Sarah Elizabeth Miller, was one of eleven children born to a slave who sent her children to freedom by the Underground Railroad. Members of the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society divided the children into various families, sending Sarah to Pittsburgh. In this portrait, Tanner captured the wisdom and experience of a woman who had endured much in her life, rising from slavery to raise well-educated and successful children. Tanner kept this portrait in his personal collection and spoke affectionately of it in letters to his family.