Henry Ossawa Tanner - The Banjo Lesson (1894)

Pictured on the right is THE BANJO LESSON by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1894).

I saw this picture when I was a little boy when both my Grandfathers were still alive and it just always stayed with me. Whenever I saw this picture it would make me stop whatever else I was doing and I would actually study it because it was an old man teaching a very young boy a lesson. The longer I looked at it I could even feel the lesson that was going on here, I could feel the intensity of it and the way the artist captured it. It just always felt very real to me even at that young age and over the years too.

In the old man's face and body language I could feel the instruction and the teaching going on and in the little boy's face I could feel his new discovery and yearning to learn this musical instrument and to get it right. Tanner really captured that emotional feeling of a child wanting to learn something new and an elder giving him the opportunity to learn it. To give the youth the time and opportunity to have a try at it. Just beautiful, man.

It reminded me of when your Grandfathers teach you something as a young boy which has a totally different vibe to it than when your Dad or Mom teaches you something. You can actually get to learn it in a different way. In some African cultures it is believed that the relationship between the Grandfather and Grandson is even more sacred and special than the Dad and the Son's relationship.

Henry O. Tanner's life is highly interesting. Tanner is often regarded as a realist painter, focusing on accurate depictions of subjects instead of using interpretations. While his early works, such as "The Banjo Lesson" focused on everyday life as an African-American, Tanner's later paintings mainly focused on religious subjects, for which he is best known.

It was on September 10th, 1973 that a Commerative stamp of Henry Ossawa Tanner was issued by the U.S. Postal Service. Part of its American Arts issue, the stamp celebrated the work and accomplishments of Tanner, the first African-American artist elected to the National Academy of Design.

To see the commemorative stamp and learn more on the life of Henry O. Tanner click here: esperstamps.org.