Bannarn also studied at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design in New York.

Also an educator, Bannarn who was a friend and contemporary of famed artists Augusta Savage and Charles Alston taught at Wheatly House in New York and at the famed “Studio 306” in Harlem, New York. The latter, institution “at 306 West 141st Street was a hang out and shared studio for famed black artists like Richard Wright, Claude McKay, and Alain Locke. Black artists like Jacob Lawrence or Augusta Savage were also among those who would rent small areas of the studio for their own work, making 306 a hotbed for discussions about African American history and the social responsibilities of [artists].”

According to his daughter Bannarn “…liked nothing better than to teach and encourage young black artists…. He had no intellectual or artistic limits. Books were everywhere. He never stopped learning or encouraging others to do the same. This is probably because in his lifetime, an opportunity for education was never a given – it had to be taken full advantage of.”

Bannarn’s sculpture was widely associated with the Harmon Foundation’s touring exhibitions. Howard University art historian and author James Porter, lauded his work and his technical prowess, writing Bannarn “blends technical virtuosity with animal strength and intellectual beauty.” His signature style included rough rough-hewn sculptural surfaces with varying textures that are evocative of certain African art techniques and forms.

Another of Bannarn’s more memorable images include Lynch Victim, where Bannarn utilized the natural fork of an applewood branch to simulate the torso of a hanged man. He is also noted for creating bust of Frederick Douglass. The plaster model was reportedly kept in the artist’s own collection; it is not certain whether or not the model was ever cast in metal.

Bannarn was also a skillful painter. “From his fourth floor studio he recorded the demolition of a neighboring building in his painting Sam’s Luncheonette. Bannarn’s City Lights was said to have been inspired by the “night lights of Manhattan, dotting the cityscape across the East River,” that were prominently visible from his studio window.