Jacob Lawrence: The Legend of John Brown from the Mott-Warsh Collection
Made up of 22 screen-prints by Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), this series tells the story of white abolitionist John Brown. Using vibrant colors, story-telling precision, and powerful graphic images Lawrence explores the human condition, the African American experience, and American history.
Stay up to date on the programs and events at the Museum by visiting our Calendar Of Events. FREE tours are also available.
Stay up to date on the programs and events at the Museum by visiting our Calendar Of Events. FREE tours are also available.
About Jacob Lawrence
|
About The Legend of John Brown SeriesThe Legend of John Brown is made up of 22 screen-prints by African American artist Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) on the subject of the white abolitionist John Brown. The series is Jacob Lawrence at his full artistic strength with vibrant colors, story-telling precision, and powerful graphic images. Lawrence’s art explores the human condition, the African American experience, and American history. This series is also one of Lawrence’s many important contributions to the struggle for social justice in American life.
Lawrence dramatically tells the complex story of John Brown in a narrative graphic novel-like format. In the mid-1850s, Brown organized secret attacks to liberate enslaved people from southern plantations. He led anti-slavery troops in an effort to keep Kansas a free state. Lawrence begins the series with Brown’s decision to become an activist and shows his struggle as an organizer and strategist. He ends it with Brown’s capture, conviction, and execution for treason in the winter of 1859. Lawrence vividly shows how John Brown’s single-mindedness and violence were heroic, but also foolish and reckless. Brown was a controversial figure during his own lifetime and still is today. What began as an attack on supporters of slavery swelled into an effort to bring about the complete downfall of the South. Brown’s actions and notoriety contributed to the onset of the American Civil War, which ultimately achieved his goal of ending slavery. But his tactics were daring and sometimes misguided, resulting in bloody battles and heavy losses, including the death of Brown’s own son. Lawrence tells this intense story, asking us questions, but not giving us any easy answers. The Legend of John Brown series explores a critical moment in American history. Lawrence’s series highlights the important role of art and artists in interpreting and sharing history. |
Support comes from:
Photographs: Part of Washington's State Art Collection. Photo courtesy of the artist and the Washington State Arts Commission.
© 2023 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
© 2023 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York