Henry O. Tanner is the world famous Afro-American artist. He is the oldest son of Bishop Tanner of the A. M. E. Church. He was born in Pittsburg, Penn., but was trained in the public schools of Philadelphia, to which place his parents moved soon after his birth. His first steps in his life work were taken in the art schools of Philadelphia from which training he went to Paris where his genius developed and flowered in the studies of Benjamin Constant and Julien. In 1895 his “Sabot Maker,” was shown in the salon exhibit and received friendly treatment from the French critics. Frenchmen, as a rule, are not too favorably inclined to the works of foreigners and their appreciation of Tanner is truly significant of the real value this work—a merit which puts it beyond the limitations of race and country. In 1896 he exhibited “Daniel in the Lion’s Den,” the first of a line of religious works with which his fame has been since connected. This picture received Honorable mention from the French Jury and was bought by the Pennsylvania Academy.

Mr. Tanner’s picture, “The Two Disciples at the Tomb,” was purchased by the Chicago Art Institute for $1,600.

THE COLORED SOLDIERS
(From Dunbar’s “Lyrics of Lowly Life.”)

If the muse were mine to tempt it
And my feeble voice were strong,
If my tongue were trained to measures,
I would sing a stirring song.
I would sing a song heroic
Of those noble sons of Ham,
Of the gallant colored soldiers
Who fought for Uncle Sam!
In the early days you scorned them,
And with many a flip and flout
Said “These battles are the white man’s.
And the whites will fight them out.”
Up the hills you fought and faltered,
In the vales you strove and bled,
While your ears still heard the thunder
Of the foes’ advancing tread.
Then distress fell on the nation,
And the flag was drooping low;
Should the dust pollute your banner?
No! the nation shouted, No!
So when War, in savage triumph,
Spread abroad his funeral pall—
Then you called the colored soldiers,
And they answered to your call.

And like hounds unleashed and eager
For the life blood of the prey,
Sprung they forth and bore them bravely
In the thickest of the fray,
And where’er the fight was hottest,
Where the bullets fastest fell,
There they pressed unblanched and fearless
At the very mouth of hell.

Below are written some of the comments on his poetry and prose:

Dr. Adams, editor of “The Advance,” says: “Dunbar was a genius bound in ebony.”

Former President Theodore Roosevelt said: “I was a great admirer of his poetry and his prose.”