jacob lawrence gallery

Lawrence taught at several universities including the University of Washington where he was graduate advisor to lithographer and abstract painter James Claussen [14]
Shortly after moving to Washington state, Lawrence did a series of five paintings on the westward journey of African-American pioneer, George Washington Bush. These paintings are now in the collection of the State of Washington History Museum. [12]

Based on diligent research and inspired by Harlem Renaissance artists Augusta Savage and Charles Alston, Jacob Lawrence illustrated African American history through colorful narrative paintings. His subjects included series on prominent figures in the struggle for black liberation, such as Harriet Tubman; his “The Great Migration” (1940-41) chronicled the Depression-era flight of African Americans from the impoverished rural south to northern cities. Comprising 60 tempera works executed simultaneously with unifying color schemes and visual motifs, it depicted heart-wrenching everyday scenes. New York Times critic Holland Cotter once described Lawrence’s oeuvre as having a “sinewy moral texture. that is in the business of neither easy uplift nor single-minded protest.” Lawrence adopted his characteristic simple forms and abstract elements from African art, linking that aesthetic tradition to present-day black identity.
Based on diligent research and inspired by Harlem Renaissance artists Augusta Savage and Charles Alston, Jacob Lawrence illustrated African American history through colorful narrative paintings. His subjects included series on prominent figures in the struggle for black liberation, such as Harriet Tubman; his “The Great Migration” (1940-41) chronicled the Depression-era flight of African Americans from the impoverished rural south to northern cities. Comprising 60 tempera works executed simultaneously with unifying color schemes and visual motifs, it depicted heart-wrenching everyday scenes. New York Times critic Holland Cotter once described Lawrence’s oeuvre as having a “sinewy moral texture. that is in the business of neither easy uplift nor single-minded protest.” Lawrence adopted his characteristic simple forms and abstract elements from African art, linking that aesthetic tradition to present-day black identity.

Browse all 60 panels from The Migration Series and delve into Jacob Lawrence’s art and life through photographs, poetry, and music from the Great Migration, Harlem, and more. The website features the artist’s first hand accounts—clips from two never-before-published interviews with the artist—as well as perspectives from a range of contemporary voices. Continue the story of migration by sharing what you think #Panel61 of The Migration Series would look like.
Learn more at the Phillips’s online resource: LawrenceMigration.PhillipsCollection.org

On the Way, 1990
Lithograph on Rives BFK paper
40 x 30 inches
St. Marc, 1994
Silk screen on paper
32 1/8 x 22 1/8 inches

Upcoming Exhibitions and Programs
Photomedia
May 2 – 13
Reception: Friday, May 5, 5–8pm

References:

http://www.artsy.net/artist/jacob-lawrence
http://www.phillipscollection.org/collection/migration-series
http://www.dcmooregallery.com/artists/jacob-lawrence
http://jacoblawrencegallery.hotglue.me/
http://jacoblawrencegallery.hotglue.me/