Portrait of the Artist's Wife
Henry Ossawa Tanner
1897?
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Jack Hafif
Accession Number
1983.95.211
Tags
bust
About this artwork
Jessie Macauley Olssen first met Henry Ossawa Tanner in Barbizon, France. They married in Paris in 1899 and had one child together. In this portrait, Mrs. Tanner is shown in a highly studied pose meant to look informal and casual. Tanner painted Jessieâs face with greater detail than her dress, which he painted in a loose, unfinished manner.