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
Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Fisherman's Return, n.d., oil on canvas, 25 1219 14 in. (64.849.0 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Nicholas Zervas, 1983.95.212
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Artwork Details

Title
The Fisherman’s Return
Date
n.d.
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
25 1219 14 in. (64.849.0 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. Nicholas Zervas
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Occupation — industry — fishing
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — cottage
  • Landscape — time — night
  • Figure group
  • Object — other — lantern
Object Number
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.

Works by this artist (2 items)

Ferne Jacobs, Red Lightning Fountain, 1983, knotted and twined waxed linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Eleanor T. and Samuel J. Rosenfeld, 2002.8.5
Red Lightning Fountain
Date1983
knotted and twined waxed linen
Not on view
Ferne Jacobs, Snow Circles, 1999, coiled and twined waxed linen thread, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 2001.32
Snow Circles
Date1999
coiled and twined waxed linen thread
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Unidentified, Untitled (Child's quilt), ca. 1930, cotton and wool, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia S. Smith, 2016.57.1
Untitled (Child’s quilt)
Artist
Unidentified
Dateca. 1930
cotton and wool
Not on view
Unidentified, Untitled (Amish Doll), ca. 1940, cotton, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia S. Smith, 2016.57.11
Untitled (Amish Doll)
Artist
Unidentified
Dateca. 1940
cotton
Not on view
Richard Timothy Evans, Miss Havisham (Scrap Doll), ca. 1975, muslin and lace, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1975.138
Miss Havisham (Scrap Doll)
Dateca. 1975
muslin and lace
Not on view
Natasha Kempers-Cullen, Joie de Vivre, 1995, painted, printed, beaded, pieced, appliquéd, and machine-quilted commercial fabrics with glass and metallic beads, charms, antique buttons, and semi-precious stones, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Cynthia Boyer and Eleanor T. and Samuel J. Rosenfeld, 2000.34
Joie de Vivre
Date1995
painted, printed, beaded, pieced, appliquéd, and machine-quilted commercial fabrics with glass and metallic beads, charms, antique buttons, and semi-precious stones
Not on view