The Bagpipe Lesson

The Bagpipe Lesson
The Bagpipe Lesson, a painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner. The image was begun in Brittany in 1892 and finished in the United States.[1]
ArtistHenry Ossawa Tanner
Completion date1893
Mediumoil
MovementFrench Academic art
Subjectboy learning bagpipe with father
LocationHampton University Museum, Hampton, Virginia, USA

The Bagpipe Lesson is a painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner, completed in late 1893 and displayed at the World's Columbian Exposition (May — October 1893) and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts 63rd annual exhibition, held from December 18, 1893 to February 24, 1894.[2][3] The painting was begun by Tanner during his first summer in France, during a trip to Brittany.[1] He finished the work in Philadelphia.[1]

The picture shows a father teaching his son to play the bagpipe, and the intensity of the man with the "spasmodic efforts" of his son brings humor to the work.[1] In parts of America, this was more widely popular in the 1890s than was The Banjo Lesson, due to sensitivity over racial relations.[4]

  1. ^ a b c d "Art Notes". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 3 December 1893. p. 7. Henry O. Tanner is at present busy on a picture intended for the December exhibition at the Academy. The picture was begun sometime ago in Brittany, and represents a father teaching his son to play a bagpipe. The picture is full of spirit, the intense interest of the old man in the boy's progress and the rather spasmodic efforts of the red-faced boy to fill the instrument with wind possessing a quiet humor that is bound to make the picture popular.
  2. ^ Mosby, Dewey F. (1991). Henry Ossawa Tanner. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia; New York: Philadelphia Museum of Art; Rizzoli International Publications. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-8478-1346-9.
  3. ^ "1893-1894 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Philadelphia PA "63rd annual exhibition" December 18 1893 – February 24 1894". Fine Art Database. 18 December 1893. Exhibition name: 63rd annual exhibition; Exhibition host name & location: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; Exhibition dates: December 18 1893 – February 24 1894; Exhibition additional location & dates (for travel exhibitions): [none]; Exhibition sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
  4. ^ Ervin Dyer (23 February 1997). "Portrait of a Painter". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 81.