DC -- The Phillips Collection -- Exhibit: Jacob Lawrence; The Life Of Toussaint L'ouverture:
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Description of Pictures: The Life Of Toussaint L'ouverture
Jacob Lawrence
January 7 - April 30, 2017
This exhibition features 15 rarely seen silkscreen prints created by American artist Jacob Lawrence (1917–2001) between 1986 and 1997. The series portrays the life of Toussaint L’Ouverture (1742–1803), the former slave turned leader of Haiti’s independence movement. L’Ouverture led the fight to liberate Saint-Domingue from French colonial rule and to emancipate the slaves during the 1791 Haitian Revolution, the first successful campaign to abolish slavery in modern history. Lawrence had explored the same subject more than 40 years earlier—when he was only 20 years old—in a series of paintings of the same title (now in the Amistad Research Center, New Orleans). The celebrated paintings, which were featured prominently at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1939, laid the groundwork for Lawrence’s lifelong interest in the human quest for freedom and social justice.
While he based these later prints on the earlier 11 x 19-inch paintings, Lawrence distilled the story to 15 works from the original 41 panels and significantly expanded their scale. He worked closely with DC-based master printmaker Lou Stovall to translate the colors and fluid movement of the original tempera paint to each composition. In the print series, the narrative follows L’Ouverture from his birth to his rise as the commander of the revolutionary army to his eventual capture by Napoleon’s men. In the original painted series, Lawrence continued the story through the death of L’Ouverture as a prisoner of war in 1803, just one year before Haiti declared independence with the crowning of Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines. In highlighting the life of the courageous leader Toussaint L’Ouverture, Lawrence invites us to reflect on Haiti’s transformation from an enslaved French colony to the first black Western republic. At the same time, the series reminds us of the country’s ongoing struggle to overcome poverty and political instability.
Since acquiring 30 panels of Lawrence’s epic Migration Series (1940–41) in 1942, the Phillips has been dedicated to sharing the life and legacy of the artist and his work. The Phillips is excited to present this exhibition—on loan from the collection of Di and Lou Stovall—while The Migration Series is on view at the Seattle Art Museum for an exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of Lawrence’s birth. Learn more about The Migration Series—including video interviews with Lou Stovall discussing working with Jacob Lawrence—on the Phillips’s online resource LawrenceMigration.PhillipsCollection.org.
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TPCTOU_170414_01.JPG: Jacob Lawrence's The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture
This exhibition features 15 rarely seen silkscreen prints created by American artist Jacob Lawrence (1917–2001) between 1986 and 1997. The series portrays the life of Toussaint L'Ouverture (1742–1803), the former slave turned leader of Haiti's independence movement. L'Ouverture led the fight to liberate Saint-Domingue from French colonial rule and to emancipate the slaves during the 1791 Haitian Revolution, the first successful campaign to abolish slavery in modern history. Lawrence had explored the same subject more than 40 years earlier -- when he was only 20 years old -- in a series of paintings of the same title (now in the Amistad Research Center, New Orleans). The celebrated paintings, which were featured prominently at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1939, laid the groundwork for Lawrence's lifelong interest in the human quest for freedom and social justice.
While he based these later prints on the earlier 11 x 19-inch paintings, Lawrence distilled the story to 15 works from the original 41 panels and significantly expanded their scale. He worked closely with DC-based master printmaker Lou Stovall to translate the colors and fluid movement of the original tempera paint to each composition. In the print series, the narrative follows L'Ouverture from his birth to his rise as the commander of the revolutionary army to his eventual capture by Napoleon's men. In the original painted series, Lawrence continued the story through the death of L'Ouverture as a prisoner of war in 1803, just one year before Haiti declared independence with the crowning of Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines. In highlighting the life of the courageous leader Toussaint L'Ouverture, Lawrence invites us to reflect on Haiti's transformation from an enslaved French colony to the first black Western republic. At the same time, the series reminds us of the country's ongoing struggle to overcome poverty and political instability.
Since acquiring 30 panels of Lawrence's epic Migration Series (1940–41) in 1942, the Phillips has been dedicated to sharing the life and legacy of the artist and his work. The Phillips is excited to present this exhibition -- on loan from the collection of Di and Lou Stovall -- while The Migration Series is on view at the Seattle Art Museum for an exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of Lawrence's birth. Learn more about The Migration Series -- including video interviews with Lou Stovall discussing working with Jacob Lawrence -- on the Phillips's online resource LawrenceMigration.PhillipsCollection.org.
TPCTOU_170414_07.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
The Birth of Toussaint L'Ouverture, 1986
TPCTOU_170414_13.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
The Coachman, 1990
TPCTOU_170414_16.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
Strategy, 1994
TPCTOU_170414_19.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
Dondon, 1992
TPCTOU_170414_23.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
The Capture, 1987
TPCTOU_170414_27.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
General Toussaint L'Ouverture, 1986
TPCTOU_170414_31.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
The Opener, 1997
TPCTOU_170414_36.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
The March, 1995
TPCTOU_170414_41.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
St. Marc, 1994
TPCTOU_170414_44.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
Contemplation, 1993
TPCTOU_170414_47.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
Flotilla, 1996
TPCTOU_170414_50.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
Toussaint at Ennery, 1989
TPCTOU_170414_55.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
The Burning, 1997
TPCTOU_170414_60.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
Deception, 1997
TPCTOU_170414_63.JPG: Jacob Lawrence
To Preserve Their Freedom, 1988
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