Henry Ossawa Tanner - A Pioneer of African American Art Henry Ossawa Tanner (OS-uh-wuh) (June 21, 1859 – May 25, 1937) was an influential African American artist born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was the son of a prominent African Methodist Episcopal minister and a mother who escaped from slavery, which shaped his early life and values. Tanner developed a passion for painting at a young age and eventually pursued formal art educati…