Christ Walking on the Water

1910

Henry Ossawa Tanner

Associated Names
Henry Ossawa Tanner

Artist, American, 1859 - 1937

This print depicts a group of people on a tilting sailboat. The view is slightly elevated, showing the individuals on the boat and the water around them. The horizon is high in the composition, with the low sun on the right side casting a pale glow on the gray scene. The sail is near the top left corner of the print, with several long ropes connecting it to the small boat. Several people appear to be clustered together in the back of the boat, but they are not depicted in detail. One person is near the front of the boat, their back to us, looking out towards the sun. On the far right, the shadowy silhouette of a person is visible on the waves.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Thurlow Evans Tibbs, Jr., Washington, DC; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1996; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1989

  • African-American Artists, 1880-1987: Selections from the Evans-Tibbs Collection, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, 1989-1992, no. 10, fig. 8, repro

1999

  • Locating the Spirit: Religion and Spiritualty in African American Art, Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 1999, p. 26, repro

Inscriptions

lower right in plate: OT [the artist's monogram]; lower left edge in graphite by unknown hand: 24 x 18 / 6 / 6 / 36/32

Watermarks

F J Head [partial]

Wikidata ID

Q77015187

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