Artist Jacob Lawrences’s ‘Struggle Series’ Offers a Poignant Reminder of Past Challenges America Has Endured—See Images Here
While museums around the globe are closed to the public, we
are spotlighting each day an inspiring exhibition that was
previously on view. Even if you can’t see it in person, allow us to
give you a virtual look.
“Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle”
Peabody Essex Museum
What the museum says: “‘Jacob Lawrence:
The American Struggle’ is the first museum exhibition of the
series of paintings ‘Struggle: From the History of the American
People’ (1954–56) by the best-known black American artist of
the 20th century, Jacob Lawrence. Created during the modern civil
rights era, Lawrence’s 30 intimate panels interpret pivotal moments
in the American Revolution and the early decades of the republic
between 1770 and 1817 and, as he wrote, ‘depict the struggles of a
people to create a nation and their attempt to build a
democracy.’”
Why it’s worth a look: We should all be so
lucky as to visit this exhibition in person when museums are back
up and running, but in the meantime, seeing the saturated
egg-tempera paintings by Lawrence on a screen is itself a welcome
respite from the news.
This is the first time in more than 60 years that all of the
panels from the “Struggle” series are together, and taken in their
entirety the scope of the late Lawrence’s talents is stunning. The
panels, intimately scaled, are made up of bold, graphic shapes that
vibrate with activity; much of it violent, as noted in the quotes
that Lawrence used as titles, evoking the physical struggle of the
battles, and the emotional turmoil it left in its wake.
The paintings are shown alongside works by contemporary artists
Hank Willis Thomas, Bethany Collins, and Derrick Adams, who have
been influenced by Lawrence’s spirit and visual oeuvre. While it is
deeply unsettling to note how little has changed in terms of race
relations, it is clear that every generation of artists are
building on those who came before, and seeing the scope of
Lawrence’s impact is a hopeful note to end on as Americans continue
to struggle.
What it looks like:
Installation view of “Jacob Lawrence:
The American Struggle,” courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum.
Installation view of “Jacob Lawrence:
The American Struggle,” courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum.
Jacob Lawrence, Panel 1. . . . Is
Life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of
chains and slavery? —Patrick Henry, 1775, (1955). © The Jacob
and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle/Artists Rights Society
(ARS), New York. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.
Jacob Lawrence, Panel 2. Massacre in
Boston (1955). © The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation,
Seattle/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo by Bob
Packert/PEM.
Jacob Lawrence, Panel 3. Rally
Mohawks! Bring out your axes, and tell King George we’ll pay no
taxes on his foreign tea. . . . —A song of 1773 (1955). ©
The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists
Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM
Jacob Lawrence, Panel 5. We have no
property! We have no wives! No children! We have no city! No
country! —Petition of Many Slaves, 1773, (1955). © The Jacob
and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society
(ARS), New York. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.
Installation view of “Jacob Lawrence:
The American Struggle,” courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum.
Jacob Lawrence, Panel 8. . . . again
the rebels rush furiously on our men—a Hessian soldier, (1954).
© The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists
Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.
Jacob Lawrence, Panel 25. I cannot
speak sufficiently in praise of the firmness and deliberation with
which my whole line received their approach . . . —Andrew Jackson,
New Orleans, 1815, (1956.) © The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence
Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo
by Bob Packert/PEM.
Installation view of “Jacob Lawrence:
The American Struggle,” courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum.
Jacob Lawrence, Panel 27. . . . for
freedom we want and will have, for we have served this cruel land
long enuff . . . —A Georgia Slave, 1810, (1956). © The Jacob
and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society
(ARS), New York.
Bethany Collins, America: A
Hymnal (exhibition copy) (2017). Photo by Tim Johnson.
The post Artist Jacob Lawrences’s ‘Struggle Series’ Offers a
Poignant Reminder of Past Challenges America Has Endured—See Images
Here appeared first on artnet News.
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