Born in Atlantic City, NJ, Jacob Lawrence moved to Harlem with his family in 1930. During the Depression he worked for the Works Progress Administration. He first gained international recognition with his Migration Series (1941) and was drafted into the United States Coast Guard during WWII. His works are characterized by everyday scenes and narrative collections, applying blacks and browns amid vivid colors. At the age of 21, he produced a series of 41 paintings, completed in 1938, depicting the story of Toussaint Overture, a man who despite being born a slave led a revolution that defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and freed Haiti from France. Between the years of 1986 and 1997, the Amistad Research Center transferred fifteen works from this series to a screenprint format, such as the one shown here. This work, titled The Birth of Toussaint, was number six from the original series of paintings, whose full title was The birth of Toussaint L'Ouverture, May 20, 1743. Jacob Lawrence (1917 – 2000) The Birth of Toussaint, 1986 Screenprint, Edition of 100 32 x 22 in. #art #fineart #artist #billhodgesgallery #gallery #artgallery #billhodges #africanamerican #africanamericanart #blackartist #africanamericanartist #blackexcellence #jacoblawrence #birthoftoussaint #thebirthoftoussaint #toussaintlouverture #Haiti #haitianrevolution #screenprint #paintingtransfer
