Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000,
American) was an influential artist and
educator who brought the African-
American experience to life through
a dynamic painting style defined by
simplified forms, a limited color palette,
and a narrative progression. Lawrence
referred to his work as “dynamic cubism,”
combining the influence of European
and American Modernism with his lived
experience in Harlem. His narratives
include simplified backgrounds and
figures with elongated limbs and torsos
rendered in blacks and browns juxtaposed
against vivid colors. At the age of
twenty-three, Lawrence gained national
recognition for his sixty-panel portrayal of
the Great Migration of African-Americans
from the rural South to the urban North,
inaugurating the ability of his art to be an
instrument of social change.
–Affinities and Outliers: Highlights from the University at Albany Fine Art Collections

–American Playlist: Selections From The University At Albany Art Collections