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Jacob Lawrence:

ART HISTORY

Building a Future While Honoring the Past


Jacob Lawrence is a truly American artist, born in 1917
in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and raised in Harlem, New
York. Throughout his artistic life, he explored the racial
tensions he experienced as an African American, as
well as depression, war, the Jazz Era and much more.
Lawrence’s work is unusual in its use of bold colors
and its serial nature: generally he would make many
images telling a story or illustrating an idea. The piece
Carpenters, a fine example that is part of his “Builder
Series,” is on view at the Bruce Museum until December
30 in the exhibition “Retooled: Highlights from the
Hechinger Collection.” Lawrence became well known
for his art, taught at several universities, and continued
to paint until a few weeks before he died in 2000.

Jacob Lawrence. Carpenters, 1977. Hechinger Collection.


Photo courtesy of Joel Berger

BRUC E M USEU M
1 Museum Drive • Greenwich, CT

ReTooled: Highlights from the Hechinger Collection


September 22, 2018 - December 30, 2018 Jacob Lawrence, Self Portrait, 1977, Source: Wiki commons

You Try It!


GET
Jacob Lawrence told stories with his artwork and honored his culture,
both past and present. To do this, he made serial paintings, often on
cardboard or wooden panels. What stories are important to you? Choose
Creative!
a topic you want to tell the story of, gather paint, pencils, and
multiple pieces of cardstock, paper or cardboard and
get to work. It might help to decide how many
panels you want to use, and what will be on each
of them before you start. Using the same colors
and themes on each will help your finished result Common Core State Standard:
be a unified story. Don’t forget: Have fun! ELA: Literacy: R.L. 3.3-5.3, R.L. 3.7-6.7, R.L. 3.1-5.1,
R.L. 6.4-8.4, R.H. 6-8.4, R.H. 6-8.7

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