Marshes in New Jersey
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred T. Morris, Jr.
Accession Number
1984.149.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
Henry Ossawa Tanner's *Marshes in New Jersey* (1895) is a delicate drawing that captures the serene, expansive wetlands of the American Northeast during a pivotal moment in the artist's early career. Born in Pittsburgh in 1859, Tanner was one of the first African American artists to achieve international recognition, overcoming racial barriers in the U.S. art world. This work, created when he was in his mid-30s, reflects his time studying and sketching in Philadelphia and nearby regions before his influential move to Paris in the late 1890s. The New Jersey marshes, with their vast, atmospheric...