Jacob Lawrence

From Harlem Renaissance

"Most of my work depicts events from the many

harlems that exist throughout the United States."

-Jacob Lawrence

Childhood

Jacob Lawrence was born on September 7th, 1917 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His family lived in Easton, Pennsylvania until he was seven years old, when his parents divorced and he moved to Harlem with his mother. He trained in the Harlem Art Workshop in the public library 135th Street branch during High School. He was not interested in doing idealized paintings of blacks. Despite his different interests, he became confident through Art critic Alain Locke, who said "There is in truly great art no essential conflict between racial or national traits and universal human values" and also through the Harlem setting. His artwork might have been influenced by his home. Even though his family was not rich, his mother worked to give them a beautiful home with bright colors and many patterns. "Our homes were very decorative, full of pattern, like inexpensive throw rugs, all around the house. It must have had some influence, all this color and everything. Because we were so poor the people used this as a means of brightening their life. I used to do bright patterns after these throw rugs; I got ideas from them, the arabesques, the movement and so on." -Jacob Lawrence. He spent lots of time in the Metropoitan Museum of Art, and appreciated both old and new art. He was interested in abstract and African art, and these influenced his work.

Career

Life in Harlem inspired Lawrence's art, and he was said to be the griot of Harlem. One of his most common subjects, along with Harlem life, was important events in the history of African-Americans. He illustrated the book The Great Migration, which is about the Northward move many African-Americans made to escape racism and inequality in the South.

During the depression, Lawrence was given a Rosenwald grant-in-aid, which allowed him to set up his first studio on West 125th Street with his colleagues, Romand Bearden, the painter, and writers William Attaway and Claude McKay. He also met another artist, Gwen Knight, and they married not long before World War II.

Jacob Lawrence used his art to exceed racial barriers and create understanding. He died on June 9, 2000 in Seattle, Washington. He was eighty-two.

References

"Jacob Lawrence: Exploring Stories". Whitney Museum of American Art. <http://www.whitney.org/jacoblawrence/>.

"Jacob Lawrence". The Artchive. <http://artchive.com/artchive/L/lawrence.html>.

Wheat, Ellen H.. Jacob Lawrence, American Painter. University of Washington Press, 1986.

"Jacob Lawrence". Gale Virtual Reference Library. <http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.sfpl.org/ps/retrieve.do? sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=GVRL&userGroupName=sfpl_main&tabID=T003&searchId=R 1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=1&contentSet=GALE%7 CCX3404703762&&docId=GALE|CX3404703762&docType=GALE>.

Weisberger, Bernard A.. The WPA Guide to America: The Best of 1930s America as Seen by the Federal Writers' Project. New York, Toronto: Pantheon Books, 1985.