Les Invalides, Paris

Les Invalides, Paris is one of Henry Ossawa Tanner’s few known scenes of urban Paris; the artist is best known for his religious paintings. Never exhibited during his lifetime, this painting demonstrates Tanner’s awareness of and interest in the subject matter and technique of impressionism, the portrayal of everyday, modern subjects in broken brushstrokes of pure color. Tanner depicts a southern view of the Dôme des Invalides, the site of Napoleon’s tomb. The Invalides complex also includes the Hôtel des Invalides, which was founded as a home for disabled military veterans, the first enduring institution of its kind. Tanner’s interest in social issues in the 1890s and his choice of a Parisian landmark associated with France’s compassion for the disabled suggest that he found in Paris a progressive outlook and social awareness that kept him there for much of his life.

The Art of Henry O. Tanner (1858–1937), Frederick Douglass Institute and National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (organizer). Venues: National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., July 23–September 7, 1969; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, December 28, 1969–January 31, 1970; Isaac Delgado Museum, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 20–March 29, 1970; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 26–May 31, 1970; [possibly exhibited at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]; The Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, September 15–October 25, 1970. [exh. cat.]

Turn-of-the-Century: Paintings, Graphics, Photographs, 1890–1910, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York (organizer). Venues: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, June 30–October 2, 1977; The St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri, December 1, 1977–January 12, 1978; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, February 2–March 12, 1978. [exh. cat.]

Selections from the Permanent Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, July 19–September 14, 1985.

Robert Dawson Evans Memorial Wing Painting Reinstallation Loan, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, December 1, 1986–March 31, 1987.

A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]

Selections from the Permanent Collection: Americans at Home and Abroad, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 6–29, 1987.

An American Revelation: The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 28–October 1, 1988.

American Painters in France, 1830–1930, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, June 14–September 3, 1989. [exh. cat.]

Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1859–1937, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (organizer). Venues: Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 20–April 14, 1991; The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan, May 12–August 4, 1991; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, September 17–November 24, 1991; The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, California, December 14, 1991–March 1, 1992. [exh. cat.]

Impressions de toujours: les peintres américains en France, 1865–1915 (Lasting Impressions: American Painters in France, 1865–1915), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, June 1–November 1, 1992; April 1–October 31, 1993; April 1–October 30, 1994; April 1–October 31, 1995. [exh. cat.]

Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 1996.

American Artists and the French Experience, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 12–August 27, 1997.

American Artists and the Paris Experience, 1880–1910, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 22, 1997–March 8, 1998.

Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920 (The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 15, 1999; Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, December 10, 1999–May 7, 2000 (in modified form). [exh. cat.]

Héroïque et le quotidien: les artistes américains, 1820–1920 (The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–November 30, 2001. [exh. cat.]

D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.

A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003 (on exhibit extended run: November 2, 2002–March 2, 2003).

American Classics, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, December 13, 2003–February 8, 2004.

Highlights from the Collection of the Terra Foundation for the Arts, Union League Club of Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Union League Club of Chicago, Illinois, July 20–October 31, 2004.

Expanded Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, April 15, 2005–February 2006.

Americans in Paris 1860–1900. National Gallery, London, England and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachussetts in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York (organizers). Venues:  National Gallery, London, England, February 22–May 21, 2006; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,  Massachusetts, June 25–September 24, 2006; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,  New York, October 16, 2006–January  28, 2007. [exh. cat]

Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, June 2008–August 2013.

Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection,  The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, February 2017–November 2021.

Terra Collection-in-Residence,  Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, Georgia, June 1, 2022–June 30, 2026.

 

Tanner, Henry Ossawa. The Art of Henry O. Tanner (1859–1937). (exh. cat., Frederick Douglas Institute and National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution). Washington, D.C.: The Institute, 1969. Text p. 26, no. 10 (checklist).

Hills, Patricia. Turn-of-the-Century America: Paintings, Graphics, Photographs, 1890–1910. (exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art). New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1977. Text pp. 73, 193 (checklist); ill. p. 78, fig. 74 (black & white).

American Impressionists: A Selection from the Hirsch and Adler Galleries. Memphis, Tennessee: Dixon Gallery and Gardens, 1978. Text. p. 66, lot 84.

Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Ill. p. 239, pl. T-130 (color).

Shelby, Carole and Sue Taylor. American Painters in France, 1830–1930. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago: Terra Museum of American Art, 1989. Text p. 15, cat. no. 36 (checklist).

Mosby, Dewey F. Henry Ossawa Tanner. (exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1991. Text pp. 132–34; ill. p. 133, cat. no. 35 (color).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Lasting Impressions: American Painters in France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text pp. 10, 35, 262; ill. p. 263, pl. 81 (color).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Impressions de toujours: les peintres américains en France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text pp. 10, 35, 262; ill. p. 263, pl. 81 (color).

Les Invalides, Paris, Henry Ossawa Tanner. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 1996. Ill. (black & white).

Regard sur cinq années d'expositions (Five years of Exhibitions at a Glance). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1997. Text p. 55 (checklist).

Torchia, Robert Wilson, Deborah Chotner and Ellen G. Miles. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century: Part II. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1998. Text p. 198n2.

Cartwright, Derrick R. The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1999. Text p. 26 (checklist); ill. p. 39 (color).

Cartwright, Derrick R. Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1999. Text p. 26 (checklist); ill. p. 39 (color).

Cartwright, Derrick R. The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text pp. 13, 24 (checklist); ill. p. 13, fig. 7 (black & white).

Cartwright, Derrick R. L'Héroïque et le quotidian: les artistes américains, 1820–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text pp. 13, 24 (checklist); ill. p. 13, fig. 7 (black & white).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 136, 205; ill. pp. 137 (color), 205 (black & white).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 136, 205; ill. pp. 137 (color), 205 (black & white).

Adler, Kathleen et al. Americans in Paris, 1860–1900. (exh. cat. National Gallery of Art) London, England: National Gallery Company Limited, 2006. Text pp. 91, 259; ill. p. 104, cat. no. 52 (color); p. 259 (color).

Marley, Anna O. Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit. (exh. cat., Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Cincinnati Art Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston) Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2012. Text p. 42n29.

Bourguignon, Katherine M., and Peter John Brownlee, eds. Conversations with the Collection: A Terra Foundation Collection Handbook. Chicago: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2018. Text pp. 162, 163; ill. p. 162, detail pp. 164–165 (color).