© Roxane Gilbert
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(1917-2000) Jacob Lawrence was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 7, 1917. His parents separated, and his mother moved with Jacob and his brother and sister to Philadelphia. Around 1930, during the Great Depression, they settled in Harlem in New York City. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920's had faded, but some of its influence persisted. Jazz, vaudeville and dramatic theatre flourished. Jacob Lawrence recalls:

The 30's was actually a wonderful period in Harlem, although we didn't know this at the time. Of course, it wasn't wonderful for our parents. For them it was a struggle, but for the younger people coming along like myself, there was a real vitality in the community.

Lawrence studied with Charles Alston at the Harlem Art Workshop in the early 1930's. He then rented space in Alston's studio at 306 West 141st Street until 1940. While working at "306," he met many dancers, musicians and writers. "306" became the center of his social life.

Edith Halpert, the owner of the Downtown Gallery in Manhattan, was impressed with Lawrence's Migration series, and came up with the idea of a multiple-gallery black artists' show. She signed Lawrence, and the Downtown Gallery exhibit opened on December 9, 1941. Because of the attack on Pearl Harbor, all of the other dealers cancelled their plans. Lawrence's work achieved national attention.

Initially, Lawrence's work was categorized as "Negro art," but as he described it:

My pictures express my life and experience. I paint the things I know about and the things I have experienced. The things I have experienced extend into my national, racial and class group. So I paint the American scene."

Jacob Lawrence Prints & Posters

Harlem Renaissance Prints & Posters

Reference: Jacob Lawrence: American Painter by Ellen Harkins Wheat; (1986) Seattle Art Museum; Seattle, WA