Story Art – Jacob Lawrence

2nd Grade February Art ProjectWest Mercer Elementary Art Enrichment Program

Today’s Project- Story Art Part 1• Jacob Lawrence• The Great

Migration• Pencil, crayon,

captionsPart 2• Paint

Jacob Lawrence • Born in 1917 in New Jersey• His parents moved from

the south to make a better life

• In New York, he learned about African American history and art

• Gained a reputation as a history painter– Commissioned to paint the

Great Migration series• Taught art at the University

of Washington

Events leading to the Great Migration-1

• In the south, much of the land is rural farmland

• After slavery was abolished, many slaves stayed to work the land

• The were not paid well and so were too poor to own land

Events leading to the Great Migration-2

• Pests and floods ruined crops

Panel 9: “They left because the boll weevil had ravaged the cotton crop.”

• Children worked in the fields with their parents

Panel 24: “The children were forced to work in the fields. They could not go to school.”

Events leading to the Great Migration-3• In the south, they experienced discrimination

Panel 14: “For African Americans there was no justice in the southern courts.”Panel 19: “There had always been discrimination.”

Events leading to the Great Migration-4

• World War I changed industry in the north– Many white men

went off to war making a shortage of workers

– Industrial production increased

• Panel 1: "During the World War there was a great migration North by Southern Negroes." (1940-41)

The Great Migration

The Great Migration- 1• 1 million African

Americans moved north• They moved mostly to

Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus

Panel 36: “Migrants arrived in Chicago, the gateway to the west.”Panel 45: "They arrived in Pittsburgh, one of the great industrial centers of the North, in large numbers."

Great Migration- 2• Moving to the north did

improve their lives• Voting, education,

empowerment, and community

Panel 58: “In the north, the African American had more educational opportunities.”Panel 59: “In the north, they had the freedom to vote.”

The Great Migration- 3• Life in the north

also had its challenges–Housing

became scarce–Discrimination

Panel 49: “They found discrimination in the north. It was a different kind.”

The Migration Series• 60 paintings done

all at the same time, color by color

• Paintings numbered and with captions to tell a story

• Style called expressive cubism

• Panel 3: “ From every southern town, migrants left by the hundreds to travel north.”

Story Art•Whose story is he telling?•How does he show the people?•How does he show objects?

Panel 31: “Migrants found improved housing when they arrived north.”Panel 60: “And the migrants kept coming.”

Panel 5: “Migrants were advanced passage on the railroads, paid for by northern industries.”Panel 39: “ Railroad platforms were piled high with luggage.”

What kinds of colors does he use?

Step 1- Choose scenes• Tell a story of migration by choosing 2 different

scenes– Life in the South– Journey north– Life in the north

• Scenes should include– people (one, a family, or more)– Simple shapes (a person can be a circle and

rectangles)– Big shapes (no fine details)

• Sketch 2 scenes on scratch paper

Step 2- Canvas Paper • Names on the back

(white side)• Paper in landscape

orientation• Draw scenes in

pencil• Trace in black crayon

Step 3- Captions • 2 yellow strips• Write names on back

in pencil• Write simple

sentences to describe your scenes

• Get ok from a parent• Trace in sharpie pen

Part 2 - Step 4- Tempera paint

• Lawrence used only simple, bright colors

• Black, white, brown

• Red, blue, yellow, green