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FOREWORD

Jacob Lawrence has looked at history with the discerning eye of a sensitive critic. He has recorded a visual record which touches upon our national and ancestral interests. It is obviously noticeable that his paintings contain some of the visual symbols associated with man's protest against the intolerable conditions that often beset him, but they also present to us a segment of reality which ties our own lives to history that is reflected in the immediate drama of contemporary living. This is the reason why his style in art cannot be crammed into the usual "bag" of modern "isms." Thus, he distinguishes himself as an artist who is highly sensitive to the conditions of life that face all mankind.

The simplicity of design as seen in his early works reveals his sight of understanding the essential nature of things. He is not a person to prolong the image which he depicts or the shadow behind it, instead, his language is concise, sharp and witty.

His TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE series, done in 1938, was hailed at the 1940 Chicago Negro Exposition as one of the most symbolic narratives of its time. This was the beginning of the formal series followed by such works as the MIGRATION, JOHN BROWN, FREDERICK DOUGLASS and HARRIET TUBMAN. The artist's choice of dealing with his own people as subjects grew out of his dedication and interest in the history of Black people in the new world. The struggles that Black people had to endure in Haiti and the United States were of great interest to him and he has recorded them in narrative sequence, telling stories of heroism and bravery, failures and fears.

In TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE, the artist captures the essence of the action and struggles which led Haiti to gain its independence from France in the year 1804. His historical account of the Haitian struggle does not begin with the life of Toussaint. Instead, it begins with an account of Columbus discovering the island on December 6, 1492. He then follows by giving an account of the difficulties created by Spanish soldiers in 1503 and goes on to narrate history by showing Toussaint's victory over the French with the signing of the Declaration of Independence January 1, 1804. Such is the account given by Lawrence in separate stages pertaining to the country which Toussaint, the great Haitian general, led to independence.

Lawrence was twenty years old when he created the TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE Series. He had weathered the experience of growing up in a large metropolitan city—and had seen the injustices heaped upon his people through no fault of their own. This, along with the commitment and firm determination to become an artist, did not take away from his sensitive concern for the dignity of man. Thus he is able to record a statement which speaks of man's inhumanity to man without becoming the creator of the case. He is also able to render a case of societal ills without becoming the one who asks for sympathy. Here is a man whose tough times have contributed to his own salvation. His contribution to art makes him a rare jewel among many colored stones.

DAVID C. DRISKELL, Chairman
Department of Art