Jacob Lawrence:
the American Struggle

This exhibition and catalogue reunite Black artist Jacob Lawrence’s revolutionary series Struggle ... From the History of the American People, reevaluating the relationships between the artwork, contemporary art and artists, and ongoing debates about democracy, justice, and the politics of inclusion. The exhibition and catalogue will travel to museums across the U.S. including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Seattle Art Museum; the exhibition is receiving international press, including from the Washington Post, the New York Times, Forbes, and PBS Newshour, among others.

The sweeping sequence of Lawrence’s thirty-panel series recognizes the artist as both the painter and storyteller of this strikingly contemporary revisionist history of the U.S. “As Lawrence saw it,” writes curator Beth Turner, “not one but many images were needed to tell ‘the complete story.’” To translate this idea, we enlarged each artwork’s title and positioned it equal to each work, allowing users to read titles and images side by side. Lawrence’s background as a scholar influenced his work as a painter, and newspaper clippings and reference materials inspire a balance of utility and aesthetics in the catalogue. Black and white is used alongside colors drawn from the American flag and Lawrence’s palette; and the plates provide space for the publication’s curatorial chorus, giving voice to the next generation of Lawrence scholars.

AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers Award, 2020

Elizabeth Hutton Turner and Austen Barron Bailey. Peabody Essex Museum, 2020. 200 pages.