New Jersey, from the United States Series

New Jersey, from the United States Series www.wikiart.org/en/jacob-lawrence/new-je...

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

The Negro was the largest source of labor to be found after all others had been exhausted http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78538

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

They also worked in large numbers on the railroad http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78537

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

One of the main forms of social and recreational activities in which the migrants indulged occurred in the church http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78546

War Series: Alert

War Series: Alert www.wikiart.org/en/jacob-lawrence/war-se...

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

Among the social conditions that existed which was partly the cause of the migration was the injustice done to the Negroes in the courts http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78554

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

Race riots were very numerous all over the North because of the antagonism that was caused between the Negro and white workers. Many of these riots occurred because the Negro was used as a strike breaker in many of the Northern... http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78544

War Series: Beachhead

War Series: Beachhead www.wikiart.org/en/jacob-lawrence/war-se...

Pool Parlor https://www.wikiart.org/en/jacob-lawrence/pool-parlor

Tombstones

Tombstones www.wikiart.org/en/jacob-lawrence/tombst...

Confrontation at the Bridge from the series Not Songs of Loyalty Alone: The Struggle for Personal Freedom

Confrontation at the Bridge from the series Not Songs of Loyalty Alone: The Struggle for Personal Freedom www.wikiart.org/en/jacob-lawrence/confro...

“I paint the things I have experienced,” Jacob Lawrence stated. Raised in Harlem, Lawrence studied at various federally funded community cultural centers and art workshops, where his talent was quickly recognized. The young artist soon applied his bold, unique style to the creation of narrative cycles devoted to African American history, leaders, and life. His sixty-panel Migration series (1940–41), depicting the resettlement of blacks from the rural South to the industrial North in the first half of the twentieth century, debuted in 1941 at the prestigious Downtown Gallery in New York. This exhibition bought national attention to the artist, then only in his early twenties. The cycle was acquired later by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Phillips Collection, Washington, DC. In addition to his various series, Lawrence also executed individual genre scenes, such as The Wedding, throughout his long career. With its bright, flat colors, bold patterning, and economical yet suggestive forms, this vibrant composition shows a bride and groom, flanked by two attendants, standing before a stern-faced minister. This arrangement makes us, like the attendants, participants in a major life event. Befitting both the solemnity and joy of a wedding, the composition combines the symmetrical rigidity of the standing figures with a riotous profusion of intensely colored stained-glass panels and flowers. The Wedding demonstrates well what one writer described as Lawrence’s unwavering commitment “to make his subject a testament, an expression of his belief in [humanity’s] continuing strength.” Restricted gift of Mary P. Hines in memory of her mother, Frances W. Pick

The Wedding https://www.artic.edu/artworks/125660/

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

Housing for the Negroes was a very difficult problem http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78543

The Builders

The Builders www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/1...

Harriet Tubman Series (Panel #4)

Harriet Tubman Series (Panel #4) www.wikiart.org/en/jacob-lawrence/harrie...

Harlem Street Scene

Harlem Street Scene www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/1...

Builders #1

Builders #1 https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/21216/

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

The migration gained in momentum http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78556

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

Another of the social causes of the migrants' leaving was that at times they did not feel safe, or it was not the best thing to be found on the streets late at night. They were arrested on the slightest provocation http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78529

Vaudeville

Vaudeville www.wikiart.org/en/jacob-lawrence/vaudev...

Bar and Grill

Bar and Grill www.wikiart.org/en/jacob-lawrence/bar-an...

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

The World War had caused a great shortage in Northern industry and also citizens of foreign countries were returning home http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78526

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

Child labor and a lack of education was one of the other reasons for people wishing to leave their homes http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78530

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

The railroad stations were at times so over-packed with people leaving that special guards had to be called in to keep order http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78553

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

One of the largest race riots occurred in East St. Louis http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78545

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

Among one of the last groups to leave the South was the Negro professional who was forced to follow his clientele to make a living http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78547

The Studio

The Studio www.wikiart.org/en/jacob-lawrence/the-st...

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

They did not always leave because they were promised work in the North. Many of them left because of Southern conditions, one of them being great floods that ruined the crops, and therefore they were unable to make a living where they... http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78551

Windows

Windows https://www.wikiart.org/en/jacob-lawrence/windows-1977

Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

Although the Negro was used to lynching, he found this an opportune time for him to leave where one had occurred http://www.moma.org/collection/works/78555