Jacob Lawrence African American artist Date of Birth: 07.09.1917 Country: USA

Biography of Jacob Lawrence

Jacob Lawrence was an African-American artist born in 1917 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. At the age of 13, he moved to New York with his sister and brother, where his mother enrolled him in a class at the Harlem School of Applied Arts. Despite not being a diligent student, as he had to work to support his mother, his teachers recognized his potential.

After finishing his art class at the age of 16, Lawrence worked in a typography and a laundry, while finding time to pursue his passion for art. At the age of 21, he joined the WPA Federal Art Project, which allowed him to pursue painting professionally. His early surviving paintings, dated 1935, depicted the life in Harlem during the Great Depression. Dark and somber, they portrayed poverty, destitution, and racial discrimination.

Another series of Lawrence's paintings focused on the life of Toussaint L'Ouverture, a Haitian revolutionary general. During his time at the Harlem Community Art Center, Lawrence met his future wife, renowned African-American artist Gwendolyn Knight. They got married on July 24, 1941, and remained together until Jacob's death in 2000. Their creative partnership was celebrated with the establishment of the Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Fellowship by the Seattle Art Museum.

During World War II, Lawrence served in the United States Coast Guard, where he continued to make sketches. His entire body of work was dedicated to the struggle for African-American freedom, with each painting representing different periods of African-American history. His most famous series includes "The Migration Series" and "John Brown."

In the 1970s, Lawrence moved to Seattle, where he taught at the University of Washington. He referred to his style of painting as "dynamic cubism," although this definition is disputed by many art critics. Regardless, his contribution to African-American art is invaluable. His works have been exhibited in prestigious galleries such as The Whitney Museum of American Art, Venice Biennale, Sao Paolo Biennale, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, and others.

Lawrence's first exhibition took place in 1940 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. His painting titled "Builders" was acquired by the administration of President George Bush Jr. and displayed in the White House Green Room, despite some criticism regarding its depiction of African-American men engaged in physical labor.

Jacob Lawrence lived until the age of 82 and passed away on June 9, 2000. Following his death, The New York Times referred to him as "one of the leading artists of contemporary America." His last artwork, a mosaic mural titled "New York in Transit," can be seen at the Times Square subway station. Lawrence received numerous awards for his contributions to the arts, including the Spingarn Medal, The Washington Medal of Merit, and the National Medal of Arts.