Study for the Young Sabot Maker
Henry Ossawa Tanner
ca. 1895
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Accession Number
1983.95.208
Tags
male and childchildshoemaker
About this artwork
After Henry Ossawa Tanner moved to France in 1891, he spent a few summers in Pont-Aven and Concarneau, where wooden shoes called sabots were common. This study shows a young student learning the trade from his teacher, a frequent theme in Tannerâs early work. In the final painting the young sabot-maker is not French but African American, reflecting Tannerâs own racial heritage. The Young Sabot Maker was his second painting to be accepted by the annual Paris exhibition, a coveted sign of offi...