Memorabilia

For the twentieth anniversary of Vassar College's Program in Africana Studies, Lawrence chose to depict the storeroom of a conservatory replete with images of an African American heritage. Visible are examples of African carving, a Nigerian adire cloth, and a jazz trio. Historical events, alluding in part to Lawrence's own previous work, are also represented. On the top shelf, Harriet Tubman brandishes a rifle, while on the table several troops allude to such revolutionary armies as those of Toussaint L'Ouverture and John Brown or to the battles of the Civil War.

Jacob Lawrence was a great American painter of history and urban life, an icon and national treasure who lived for many years in the City of Seattle. Paving the way for the generations of black artists who would follow, Lawrence was the first African-American artist to be represented by a major commercial gallery in the nation. Without question, he was the most important artist in the City of Seattle. It was at the Harlem Art Center that I was given materials and instruction in handling the plastic elements of line, texture, color, space, and value.