In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 1917
- Died
- 2000
- Birthplace
- Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
- Country
- United States
- Nationality
- Not independently established
- Known for
- The Migration Series
- Working form
- Single paintings and extended series
- Teaching
- New York, North Carolina and Seattle
Why this life matters
He made the relationship between one image and a longer sequence a central artistic problem.
Timeline
Key moments
Migration paintings
Created the sixty-panel sequence.
Seattle appointment
Joined the University of Washington permanently.
Death
Died in Seattle.
Learning in Harlem
Born in Atlantic City, Jacob Lawrence developed as an artist in Harlem. The Utopia Children’s Center, Charles Alston’s workshop and Augusta Savage’s teaching offered routes into art beyond conventional professional training. He painted contemporary neighbourhood life while developing historical subjects.
His early sequences treated Toussaint Louverture, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. For The Migration Series he researched the subject and wrote captions before making the paintings. The resulting 60 panels belong to a sustained narrative rather than a collection of unrelated scenes.
Choosing a sequence let him distribute attention. A single dramatic incident need not stand for an entire history: departure, work, worship and collective movement could acquire meaning through their relationships.
An ambitious series and a partnership
Lawrence began the migration project in 1940 and realised it with assistance from fellow artist Gwendolyn Knight, whom he married. Edith Halpert’s Downtown Gallery exhibited the work; in 1942 the Phillips Collection and MoMA divided it, taking odd- and even-numbered panels respectively.
He worked across the panels together to maintain a consistent palette. The church panel’s casein tempera on hardboard is one part of that larger construction, not an isolated illustration of the whole migration.
Knight had her own artistic practice. Acknowledging her help does not require treating her career as an extension of his; the archival collection preserves both artists’ work and lives.
Teaching and continued painting
Josef Albers invited Lawrence to teach at Black Mountain College in 1946. Later posts included Pratt Institute. After a visiting appointment in Seattle, he joined the University of Washington permanently in 1971 and retired in 1986. He died in Seattle in 2000.
Builders No.1, made in 1971, belongs to his recurring interest in people building together. The Birmingham Museum of Art relates the later builder images to the possibility of collective improvement.
Teaching did not replace painting. His later work continued to ask how individual gestures fit into a shared social space, a concern that also makes the sequential paintings rewarding to revisit.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Jacob Lawrence
- Who was Jacob Lawrence?
- Jacob Lawrence was a painter and teacher. He made the relationship between one image and a longer sequence a central artistic problem.
- What is Jacob Lawrence best known for?
- Jacob Lawrence is best known for the Migration Series.
- When and where was Jacob Lawrence born?
- Jacob Lawrence was born in 1917 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States.
- When did Jacob Lawrence die?
- Jacob Lawrence died in 2000.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Elizabeth Catlett
Compare another working life shaped by making and teaching.
- Ruth Asawa
Explore a different relationship between studio practice and public life.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian InstitutionJacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight papers: biographical note
- 2. The Phillips CollectionThe Migration Series: introduction
- 3. The Phillips CollectionPeople on the Move: Beauty and Struggle in Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series
- 4. The Museum of Modern ArtThe Migration Series, church panel: collection record and gallery label
- 5. Birmingham Museum of ArtBuilders No.1