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Jacob Lawrence's Painted Stories

Art meets storytelling as students explore the life and works of artist Jacob Lawrence.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) was an artist who combined social realism, modern abstraction, and bold colors to create compelling stories of African American experiences in the United States. During the 1940s he was the most celebrated African American painter in America. (His family lived for a while in Easton, PA, the home of Crayola.) Have students learn more about his life and look at images of his work. Have them note how his use of abstraction in depicting specific historical scenes gives them them a more universal appeal, as viewers can imagine themselves in similar positions.

  • Step 2

    Lawrence's "Frederick Douglass Series" and "Harriet Tubman Series," which document their struggles and heroic accomplishments, are among his greatest achievements. Have students choose a historic figure and some images related to them to depict in a piece of art.

  • Step 3

    When their work is complete, have them present it to the class and discuss the person they chose and some of the notable events in their life.

Standards

ARTS: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.

ARTS: Speculate about processes an artist uses to create a work of art.

Adaptations

One of Lawrence's best known series is "The Migration of the Negro" painted in 1940-41. It depicts aspects of the Great Migration when millions of African Americans moved from rural communities in the South to urban areas in Northern and Western states between 1916 and 1970. Have students investigate this movement. What were its causes? How did people adapt? What was its impact?

Have students learn about other artists who have depicted the African American experience such as Robert McNeill who traveled throughout Virginia photographing people at work in rural and urban areas, or Aaron Douglas, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance whose illustrations and painted murals addressed race and segregation in the United States.

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