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The Good Shepherd

Henry Ossawa Tannercirca 1914

New Orleans Museum of Art

New Orleans Museum of Art
New Orleans, United States

As artists like Hartley looked towards rural Maine, others like Henry Ossawa Tanner traveled even further afield, forsaking Philadelphia and Atlanta for Paris and the Middle East. Tanner painted The Good Shepherd during one of several trips to the Holy Land. Tanner, the son of the minister of the first independent African-American Episcopal church in the United States, was particularly drawn to religious imagery, and created a large body of religious paintings. Although painted far from the United States, many interpreted these works as closely allied with domestic issues and concerns. Tanner was the first African-American student to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and fled the United States for more egalitarian Paris partly due to his unequal treatment in American art schools. Through paintings like The Good Shepherd, Tanner sought to convey a spirit of compassion and equality that, as he famously said, might “make the whole world kin.”

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  • Title: The Good Shepherd
  • Creator: Henry Ossawa Tanner
  • Creator Lifespan: 1859/1937
  • Creator Nationality: American
  • Date: circa 1749-1752
  • Date Created: circa 1914
  • Physical Dimensions: framed: 29 1/4 x 33 1/4 x 1 7/8 in (74.3 x 84.46 x 4.76 cm)
  • Type: Oil on canvas
New Orleans Museum of Art

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