Jacob Lawrence: The Migration Series

I have Jacob Lawrence prints in my home and was delighted to have a collection of them in two formats: hardback and paperback. The books were especially important, because my grandchildren were coming to visit and have always been intrigued by the pictures. I gave the paperback to them to take home. The colors and representations captivate them. My grandson loves the story of John Henry who had been introduced to him by his father and quickly identified the pictures in the books that he could associate with John Henry. My granddaughter wants to be an artist someday, and so spends a great deal of her time drawing forms and shapes. Jacob Lawrence's use of color to suggest form and shape was ideal for her.For me, the pictures are reminiscent of the stories I heard as a child and the events that I witnessed. For these reasons Jacob Lawrence's work has always resonated with me. Of course his talent and skill as an artist are the basis for any consideration of his work.

This is a lovely and important collection. It has both visual and historical meaning.It is unusual to have two museums collaborate on a publication of art that is part of the individual collections of both institutions. But Jacob Lawrence is always likely to stimulate creative approaches.

I saw half of this series at the Phillips Collection in DC 12/19 and purchased this book to learn more and see the other half. The photography is perfect, and the essays accompanying the paintings are informative and lively. Highly recommended, I am keeping this as part of my collection.

A beautiful book recording the art and writing of Jacob Lawrence, whose mother and father were part of the Great Migration of blacks to the North (1940s-1970s) searching for opportunities, and a more human life, denied them in the South . His parents settled in Harlem. Others in this important piece of American history settled in Chicago, Los Angeles, St Louis, etc. Lawrence's paintings are small, done on wood boards in vivid colors and depict many aspects of this great migratory wave; they are vibrant narrations, as are his words, of this important and tragically unfulfilled chapter in American history. I highly recommend it.

A review of J. Lawrence’s migration with pictures.

A marvelous book from a national treasure. I saw the entire series at MoMA in NYC June 2015. The entire series is on view there until Sept, after that, the other half of the panels go back to the Phillips Collection in DC. The book is wonderful to look at but obviously it cannot capture the life in the original art. It is a nice way to relive the actual experience of going through the exhibit. Definitely buy the book and go see the exhibit.

Helpful comments on every painting in the series. Large, respectful presentation of each painting.

This is a wonderful series of paintings on the Great Migration of African-Americans who moved from the old Confederacy to the north and west in enormous numbers between 1915 and 1965. The full series is seldom seen as a whole and this book, with excellent reproductions, is a great way to do so. It could usefully be read in conjunction with "The Warmth of Other Suns" by Isabel Wilkerson.