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Jacob Lawrence�1917-2000

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Self-Portrait, 1977

Here he portrays himself as an artist in his studio in Seattle, WA, where he moved in 1971. He depicted his own face as mask like, and he is holding brushes that represent his profession as a painter. He is smiling, as though he is welcoming viewers, inviting them into his space.

On the left, one of Lawrence’s paintings hangs on the wall. It is an image of Harriet Tubman leading the slaves to freedom, from Lawrence’s narrative series, The Life of Harriet Tubman (1939-40). Below the Harriet Tubman painting, a figure dressed in blue ascends a staircase. Perhaps this figure is from another of Lawrence’s works, or it could be an actual person, or another painted figure. On the right there are more of Lawrence’s paintings, including Tombstones (1942) and Cabinet Makers (1946).

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The Migration Series, Panel 1, 1940-41

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Migration Series, Panel 3

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Migration Series, Panel 24

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Migration Series, Panel 31

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Migration Series, Panel 57

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Migration Series, Panel 58

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The Builders (The Family), 1974

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Carpenters, 1977

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The Street, 1957

As a child Lawrence’s mother enrolled him in an after-school program, Utopia Children’s House which is where he began to develop his love for drawing and painting. However, it was Harlem, the bustling city filled with African-American scholars, artists, writers, musicians, business leaders, and average citizens (35,000 blacks lived in its 5 square miles) who provided him with subjects and images to paint as a young man and later as an adult. Here he lived in an apartment with his mother and two siblings, and spent most of his childhood pastime exploring the Harlem streets. He would observe the people, bustling activity, and even the detail of every building, such as the fire escapes with iron ladders. These buildings were several stories high and jammed together – unlike his home in Philadelphia.

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Harlem Street Scene, 1975

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Parade

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Munich Olympic Games, 1972

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The Studio, 1977