Imagining Work: Jacob Lawrence
The Harlem Renaissance - Notable Figures
- Langston HughesA writer who produced novels, plays and children's books, but is most remembered for his poetry. His most famous poem is Harlem (Dream Deferred).
- Zora Neale Hurstonnovelist whose book THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD would later be considered a pioneering work in African American literature.
- Gordon Parksan influential director and photographer, whose work helped portray the African American experience during the Civil Rights era. Below is one his most famous photographs, American Gothic, Washington, D.C. (1942).
"Forward," a 1967 painting by Jacob Lawrence, dramatizes the life of Harriet Tubman. Known as the Moses of her people, she is shown here urging a group of barefoot fugitives north to freedom.
New Deal Art Projects
During the Depression many artists, including Dorothea Lange and Jacob Lawrence, were hired through work programs created under the New Deal. Because of programs like the Farm Security Administration and other Federal Arts Projects, artists were provided steady employment.
Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series
Between 1940-1941, Jacob Lawrence would paint 60 pictures that would eventually comprise his landmark "Migration Sereis." The paintings depict the history of the Black Migration, the motivations behind it and the cultural changes that occurred as a result.
- Jacob Lawrence's Migration SeriesThe entire series with historical context at the Museum of Modern Art's interactive exhibit.
History of the Black Migration
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