Obelisk Art History

Jacob Lawrence

Jacob Lawrence, The Artists

Portrait of Jacob Lawrence

Jacob Lawrence was a U.S. Artist of the African Diaspora born on September 7, 1917. Lawrence contributed to the Harlem Renaissance movement and died on June 9, 2000.

Migration Series No.1: During World War I there was a great migration north by southern African Americans, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.1: During World War I there was a great migration north by southern African Americans 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.2: The war had caused a labor shortage in northern industry. Citizens of foreign countries were returning to their native lands, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.2: The war had caused a labor shortage in northern industry. Citizens of foreign countries were returning to their native lands 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.3: From every southern town migrants left by the hundreds to travel north, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.3: From every southern town migrants left by the hundreds to travel north 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.4: All other sources of labor having been exhausted, the migrants were the last resource, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.4: All other sources of labor having been exhausted, the migrants were the last resource 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.5: Migrants were advanced passage on the railroads, paid for by northern industry. Northern industry was to be repaid by the migrants out of their future wages, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.5: Migrants were advanced passage on the railroads, paid for by northern industry. Northern industry was to be repaid by the migrants out of their future wages 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.6: The trains were crowded with migrants, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.6: The trains were crowded with migrants 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.7: The migrant, whose life had been rural and nurtured by the earth, was now moving to urban life dependent on industrial machinery, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.7: The migrant, whose life had been rural and nurtured by the earth, was now moving to urban life dependent on industrial machinery 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.8: Some left because of promises of work in the North. Others left because their farms had been devastated by floods, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.8: Some left because of promises of work in the North. Others left because their farms had been devastated by floods 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.9: They left because the boll weevil had ravaged the cotton crop, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.9: They left because the boll weevil had ravaged the cotton crop 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.10: They were very poor, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.10: They were very poor 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.11: Food had doubled in price because of the war, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.11: Food had doubled in price because of the war 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.12: The railroad stations were at times so crowded with people leaving that special guards had to be called to keep order, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.12: The railroad stations were at times so crowded with people leaving that special guards had to be called to keep order 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.13: The crops were left to dry and rot. There was no one to tend them, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.13: The crops were left to dry and rot. There was no one to tend them 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.14: For African Americans there was no justice in the southern courts, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.14: For African Americans there was no justice in the southern courts 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.15: There were lynchings, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.15: There were lynchings 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.16: After a lynching the migration quickened, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.16: After a lynching the migration quickened 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.17: Tenant farmers received harsh treatment at the hands of the planter, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.17: Tenant farmers received harsh treatment at the hands of the planter 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.18: The migration gained in momentum, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.18: The migration gained in momentum 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.19: There had always been discrimination, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.19: There had always been discrimination 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.20: In many of the communities the Black press was read with great interest. It encouraged the movement, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.20: In many of the communities the Black press was read with great interest. It encouraged the movement 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.21: Families arrived at the station very early. They did not wish to miss their trains north, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.21: Families arrived at the station very early. They did not wish to miss their trains north 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.22: Migrants left. They did not feel safe. It was not wise to be found on the streets late at night. They were arrested on the slightest provocation, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.22: Migrants left. They did not feel safe. It was not wise to be found on the streets late at night. They were arrested on the slightest provocation 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.23: The migration spread, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.23: The migration spread 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.24: Their children were forced to work in the fields. They could not go to school, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.24: Their children were forced to work in the fields. They could not go to school 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.25: They left their homes. Soon some communities were left almost empty, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.25: They left their homes. Soon some communities were left almost empty 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.26: And people all over the South continued to discuss this great movement, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.26: And people all over the South continued to discuss this great movement 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.27: Many men stayed behind until they could take their families north with them, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.27: Many men stayed behind until they could take their families north with them 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.28: The labor agent sent south by northern industry was a familiar presence in the Black communities, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.28: The labor agent sent south by northern industry was a familiar presence in the Black communities 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.29: The labor agent recruited unsuspecting laborers as strike breakers for northern industries, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.29: The labor agent recruited unsuspecting laborers as strike breakers for northern industries 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.30: In every southern home people met to decide whether or not to go north, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.30: In every southern home people met to decide whether or not to go north 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.31: The migrants found improved housing when they arrived north, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.31: The migrants found improved housing when they arrived north 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.32: The railroad stations in the South were crowded with northbound travelers, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.32: The railroad stations in the South were crowded with northbound travelers 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.33: Letters from relatives in the North told of the better life there, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.33: Letters from relatives in the North told of the better life there 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.34: The Black press urged the people to leave the South, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.34: The Black press urged the people to leave the South 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.35: They left the South in great numbers. They arrived in the North in great numbers, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.35: They left the South in great numbers. They arrived in the North in great numbers 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.36: Migrants arrived in Chicago, the gateway to the West, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.36: Migrants arrived in Chicago, the gateway to the West 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.37: Many migrants found work in the steel industry, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.37: Many migrants found work in the steel industry 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.38: They also worked on the railroads, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.38: They also worked on the railroads 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.39: Railroad platforms were piled high with luggage, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.39: Railroad platforms were piled high with luggage 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.40: The migrants arrived in great numbers, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.40: The migrants arrived in great numbers 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.41: The South was desperate to keep its cheap labor. Northern labor agents were jailed or forced to operate in secrecy, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.41: The South was desperate to keep its cheap labor. Northern labor agents were jailed or forced to operate in secrecy 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.42: To make it difficult for the migrants to leave, they were arrested en masse. They often missed their trains, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.42: To make it difficult for the migrants to leave, they were arrested en masse. They often missed their trains 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.43: In a few sections of the South leaders of both Black and White communities met to discuss ways of making the South a good place to live, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.43: In a few sections of the South leaders of both Black and White communities met to discuss ways of making the South a good place to live 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.44: But living conditions were better in the North, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.44: But living conditions were better in the North 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.45: The migrants arrived in Pittsburgh, one of the great industrial centers of the North, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.45: The migrants arrived in Pittsburgh, one of the great industrial centers of the North 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.46: Industries boarded their workers in unhealthy quarters. Labor camps were numerous, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.46: Industries boarded their workers in unhealthy quarters. Labor camps were numerous 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.47: As the migrant population grew, good housing became scarce. Workers were forced to live in overcrowded and dilapidated tenement houses, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.47: As the migrant population grew, good housing became scarce. Workers were forced to live in overcrowded and dilapidated tenement houses 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.48: Housing was a serious problem, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.48: Housing was a serious problem 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.49: They found discrimination in the North. It was a different kind, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.49: They found discrimination in the North. It was a different kind 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.50: Race riots were numerous. White workers were hostile toward the migrant who had been hired to break strikes, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.50: Race riots were numerous. White workers were hostile toward the migrant who had been hired to break strikes 1940 – 1941

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