In the hope of earning enough money to travel to Europe, Tanner operated a photography studio in Atlanta during the late 1880s.
The venture was unsuccessful.
During this period Tanner met Bishop Joseph Crane Hartzell, a trustee of Clark College.
Hartzell and his wife befriended Tanner, became his patrons, and recommended him for a teaching job at the college.
Tanner taught drawing at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) for a short period.

In 1891 he traveled to Paris, France, to study at the Académie Julian.
He also joined the American Art Students Club.
Paris was a welcome escape for Tanner; within French art circles the issue of race mattered little.
 Tanner acclimated quickly to Parisian life.
Except for occasional brief returns home, he spent the rest of his life there.

In Paris, he was introduced to many new artists whose works would affect the way in which Tanner painted.
 At the Louvre, he encountered and studied the works of Gustave Courbet, Jean-Baptiste Chardin and Louis Le Nain.
These artists had painted scenes of ordinary people in their environment and the effect in Tanner's work is noticeable.
The influence of Courbet's The Stone Breakers (1850; Destroyed) can be seen in the similarities painted by Tanner in his The Young Sabot Maker (1895).
Both paintings explore the theme of apprenticeship and manual labor.

He studied under renowned artists such as Jean Joseph Benjamin Constant and Jean-Paul Laurens.
With their guidance, Tanner began to establish a reputation.
He settled at the Étaples art colony in Normandy.
Earlier Tanner had painted marine scenes of man's struggle with the sea, but by 1895 he was creating mostly religious works.
Tanner's shift to painting biblical scenes occurred as he was experiencing a spiritual struggle, evidenced by a letter he wrote to his parents on Christmas 1896 in which he stated, "I have made up my mind to serve Him [God] more faithfully."
A transitional work from this period is the recently rediscovered painting of a fishing boat tossed on the waves, which is held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

This is based on the description of a miracle in the Gospel of Matthew in which "the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary" (14:24).
The simple resources at Étaples were well adapted to his subject matter, which in several cases featured biblical figures in dark interiors.

His painting entitled Daniel in the Lions' Den was accepted into the 1896 Salon.
Later that year he painted The Resurrection of Lazarus.
 The critical praise for this piece solidified Tanner's position in the artistic elite and heralded the future direction of his paintings, which treated mostly biblical themes.
Upon seeing The Resurrection of Lazarus, art critic Rodman Wanamaker offered to cover an all expenses-paid trip for Tanner to the Middle East.
Wanamaker felt that any serious painter of biblical scenes needed to see the environment firsthand and that a painter of Tanner's caliber was well worth the investment.

Tanner quickly accepted the offer.
Before the next Salon opened, Tanner set forth for the Palestine region in the Levant.
Explorations of various mosques and biblical sites as well as character studies of the local population allowed Tanner to further his artistic training.
His paintings developed a powerful air of mystery and spirituality.
Tanner was not the first artist to study the Middle East in person.
Since the 1830s, interest in Orientalism had been growing in Europe.
Artists such as Eugène Delacroix, David Roberts, and, later, Henri Matisse made such tours to capitalize on this curiosity.

In his adopted home of France, he was given one of its highest honors in 1923, when he was appointed Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, the highest national order of merit, and considered this "citation by the French government to be the greatest honor of his illustrious career."
In the hope of earning enough money to travel to Europe, Tanner operated a photography studio in Atlanta during the late 1880s. The venture was unsuccessful. During this period Tanner met Bishop Joseph Crane Hartzell, a trustee of Clark College. Hartzell and his wife befriended Tanner, became his patrons, and recommended him for a teaching job at the college. Tanner taught drawing at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) for a short period.
In 1891 he traveled to Paris, France, to study at the Académie Julian. He also joined the American Art Students Club. Paris was a welcome escape for Tanner; within French art circles the issue of race mattered little.  Tanner acclimated quickly to Parisian life. Except for occasional brief returns home, he spent the rest of his life there.
In Paris, he was introduced to many new artists whose works would affect the way in which Tanner painted.  At the Louvre, he encountered and studied the works of Gustave Courbet, Jean-Baptiste Chardin and Louis Le Nain. These artists had painted scenes of ordinary people in their environment and the effect in Tanner's work is noticeable. The influence of Courbet's The Stone Breakers (1850; Destroyed) can be seen in the similarities painted by Tanner in his The Young Sabot Maker (1895). Both paintings explore the theme of apprenticeship and manual labor.
He studied under renowned artists such as Jean Joseph Benjamin Constant and Jean-Paul Laurens. With their guidance, Tanner began to establish a reputation. He settled at the Étaples art colony in Normandy. Earlier Tanner had painted marine scenes of man's struggle with the sea, but by 1895 he was creating mostly religious works. Tanner's shift to painting biblical scenes occurred as he was experiencing a spiritual struggle, evidenced by a letter he wrote to his parents on Christmas 1896 in which he stated, "I have made up my mind to serve Him [God] more faithfully." A transitional work from this period is the recently rediscovered painting of a fishing boat tossed on the waves, which is held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
This is based on the description of a miracle in the Gospel of Matthew in which "the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary" (14:24). The simple resources at Étaples were well adapted to his subject matter, which in several cases featured biblical figures in dark interiors.
His painting entitled Daniel in the Lions' Den was accepted into the 1896 Salon. Later that year he painted The Resurrection of Lazarus.  The critical praise for this piece solidified Tanner's position in the artistic elite and heralded the future direction of his paintings, which treated mostly biblical themes. Upon seeing The Resurrection of Lazarus, art critic Rodman Wanamaker offered to cover an all expenses-paid trip for Tanner to the Middle East. Wanamaker felt that any serious painter of biblical scenes needed to see the environment firsthand and that a painter of Tanner's caliber was well worth the investment.
Tanner quickly accepted the offer. Before the next Salon opened, Tanner set forth for the Palestine region in the Levant. Explorations of various mosques and biblical sites as well as character studies of the local population allowed Tanner to further his artistic training. His paintings developed a powerful air of mystery and spirituality. Tanner was not the first artist to study the Middle East in person. Since the 1830s, interest in Orientalism had been growing in Europe. Artists such as Eugène Delacroix, David Roberts, and, later, Henri Matisse made such tours to capitalize on this curiosity.
In his adopted home of France, he was given one of its highest honors in 1923, when he was appointed Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, the highest national order of merit, and considered this "citation by the French government to be the greatest honor of his illustrious career."
Henry Ossawa Tanner