The Man Who Rented Boats
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
1983.95.203
Tags
ChildrenFigure grouplakeparkvehiclevendor
About this artwork
This spot in a Paris park where vendors rented toy boats reflects the charm that led Henry Ossawa Tanner to settle in Paris in 1891. In 1909, Tanner wrote that, “After having been in Paris a week, I [found] conditions so to my liking that I completely forgot that when I left New York I had made my plans to study in Rome.” (Mosby, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1991) As in many of his studies, he sketched this scene in oil instead of pencil.