ART WIKI
Flight into Egypt, Henry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1916-1922
Henry Ossawa Tanner, portraitHenry Ossawa TannerAmerican, 1859–1937

Flight into Egypt

ca. 1916-1922 · Painting · 43 × 43 cm

May one see it?

Yes, receiving visitors

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Washington, D.C., United States

RoomLuce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 11B

On public display.

Checked
In this state since
Source
The museum
On the mapMuseum page

About the painting

Henry Ossawa Tanner's trip to the Middle East in 1897 probably inspired this scene of the flight into Egypt. The story of the Holy Family fleeing Herod's wrath was a favorite of Tanner's, who created as many as fifteen works on the theme. In this painting, Mary and the donkey are barely discernible, with the suggestion of a figure representing Joseph behind them. Moonlight illuminates the path for the family to follow. Tanner's own experience of racism in the United States, which motivated him to move to Paris, may have led him to identify with the persecuted Holy Family.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Particulars

Accession number
1983.95.202

What it shows

LandscapeAnimalRoadsMoonDonkeyOuter spaceMary, Blessed Virgin, SaintJoseph

In the catalog

PaintingsOilAmerican paintingModernism20th century

Sources

More by Henry Ossawa Tanner

All works
Flight Into Egypt, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1923

Flight Into Egypt

1923 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Study for "Christ at the Home of Lazarus", Henry Ossawa Tanner

Study for "Christ at the Home of Lazarus"

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Seine, Henry Ossawa Tanner, c. 1902

The Seine

c. 1902 · National Gallery of Art

The Two Disciples at the Tomb, Henry Ossawa Tanner, c. 1906

The Two Disciples at the Tomb

c. 1906 · Art Institute of Chicago

Mother of Henry O. Tanner, Henry Ossawa Tanner, n.d.

Mother of Henry O. Tanner

n.d. · Smithsonian American Art Museum

Head of a Woman in Jerusalem, Henry Ossawa Tanner, n.d.

Head of a Woman in Jerusalem

n.d. · Smithsonian American Art Museum

Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Atherton Curtis with Still Life, Henry Ossawa Tanner, n.d.

Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Atherton Curtis with Still Life

n.d. · Smithsonian American Art Museum

Scene of Algiers, Henry Ossawa Tanner, n.d.

Scene of Algiers

n.d. · Smithsonian American Art Museum

In the same room · Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 11B, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Museum page
He Healed the Sick, Henry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1930

Henry Ossawa Tanner

He Healed the Sick, ca. 1930

Study for Christ and Nicodemus on a Rooftop, Henry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1923

Henry Ossawa Tanner

Study for Christ and Nicodemus on a Rooftop, ca. 1923

Moses in the Bullrushes, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1921

Henry Ossawa Tanner

Moses in the Bullrushes, 1921

Gateway, Tangier, Henry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1910

Henry Ossawa Tanner

Gateway, Tangier, ca. 1910

Study, Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciples, Henry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1905

Henry Ossawa Tanner

Study, Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciples, ca. 1905

The Savior, Henry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1900-1905

Henry Ossawa Tanner

The Savior, ca. 1900-1905

And He Disappeared out of Their Sight, Henry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1898

Henry Ossawa Tanner

And He Disappeared out of Their Sight, ca. 1898

Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1897?

Henry Ossawa Tanner

Portrait of the Artist's Wife, 1897?

On the same theme · Landscape

All works on the theme
Wheat Field with Cypresses, Vincent van Gogh, 1889

Vincent van Gogh

Wheat Field with Cypresses, 1889

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Houses on the Achterzaan, Claude Monet, 1871

Claude Monet

Houses on the Achterzaan, 1871

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Landscape with a Stone Bridge, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1638

Rembrandt van Rijn

The Stone Bridge, c. 1638

Rijksmuseum

Hiëronymus lezend in een Italiaans landschap, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1653

Rembrandt van Rijn

Hiëronymus lezend in een Italiaans landschap, c. 1653

Rijksmuseum

From Glacier Point, Ansel Adams, 1927

Ansel Adams

From Glacier Point, 1927

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

Oak Tree, Snowstorm, Yosemite National Park, California, Ansel Adams, 1948, printed 1981

Ansel Adams

Oak Tree, Snowstorm, Yosemite National Park, California, 1948, printed 1981

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

High Country Crags and Moon, Sunrise, Kings Canyon National Park, California, Ansel Adams, c. 1935, printed 1979

Ansel Adams

High Country Crags and Moon, Sunrise, Kings Canyon National Park, California, c. 1935, printed 1979

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, Ansel Adams, 1942, printed 1981

Ansel Adams

Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, 1942, printed 1981

Not on view · National Gallery of Art