Jacob Lawrence

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Jacob Lawrence African American Artist
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Jacob Lawrence
Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1917, Jacob
Lawrence emerged as one of America's leading
figurative artists and the first to document the
history of African Americans through
widely-viewed and influential artworks. Lawrence
and his family moved to Harlem in 1924, where he
experienced the vibrancy of black intellectual,
cultural, and artistic life in what was seen as
the Harlem Renaissance. He became well known at
the young age of 21 for his "Toussant L'Ouverture
Series" (1937), a 41-painting collection that
depicts the successful Haitian slave rebellion.
At the age of 24, he became the first African
American whose work was included in the permanent
collection of the New York Museum of Modern
Art.
Art in the Allen Center
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Jacob Lawrence
Lawrence considered himself both an artist and
educator and used his art to tell stories about
black history -- stories that were overlooked in
the typical "American History" taught in schools.
For example, Lawrence produced a 40-panel series
on "The Life of Harriet Tubman" (1940), who in
the 1800s helped hundreds of slaves find passage
to freedom in the North through the Underground
Railroad. His 60-painting "Migration Series"
(1941) traces the mass movement of African
Americans from the South to the North following
World War I. These series use both images and
detailed titles to create a narrative history of
the event.
Art in the Allen Center
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Jacob Lawrence
In 1970, Lawrence and his wife, painter
Gwendolyn Knight, moved to Seattle when Lawrence
accepted an appointment as Professor in the
School of Art at the University of Washington. He
retired in 1980 and continued to serve as
Emeritus Professor until his death in 2000 at the
age of 83.
Art in the Allen Center
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New York in Transit. Lawrence based this 1998
screen print on his design for the 36-foot-long
mosaic mural of that name in the Times Square and
42nd Street Subway Station in New York City.
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Free Clinic
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Street to Mbari
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Pool Parlor
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The Street
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The Visitors
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One student wrote after seeing the paintings of
Jacob Lawrence, Jacob Lawrence was a great
painter. He is my hero because, throughout his
life, he did what he like best, which was
painting. His artwork said a lot about being
black in America. Thank you, Mr. Lawrence.
What can you say about why we should know about
the work of Jacob Lawrence?
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Where can you find art by Lawrence Jacob?  
WEB site for staff and students on Jacob
Lawrence A great WEB site for students. Art
Institute of Chicago Butler Institute of Art in
Ohio Dallas Museum of Art Metropolitan Museum
of Art Museum of Fine Arts in Houston National
Gallery of Art in Washington     Article on
Lawrence Jacob on PBS online  Preview of the
Story Printer by Jacob Lawrence  WEB site on Gwen
Jacob Lawrence  Pictorial slide show of The
Great Migration