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LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR
[[photo: Matthew Septimus]]

Jacob Lawrence and The Phillips Collection enjoyed a long and happy relationship dating all the way back to 1941 and the now famous competition between the Phillips and the Museum of Modern Art for the 60 panels comprising Lawrence's celebrated series, The Migration of the Negro.  Both museums, pioneers in bringing modern art to the public, recognized in this very young artist (he was only 24) a new voice, a new vision, and a story that needed to be told.  Duncan Phillips was impressed by Lawrence's distinctive combination of abstraction and socially relevant subject matter, and saw the significance of incorporating Lawrence's vivid palette and patterns into his ever-expanding definition of American modernism. Following its exhibition at Edith Halpert's Downtown Gallery in New York, the first time an African American artist was represented by a major commercial gallery, the series was divided between the two institutions.  The even numbered panels went to New York; the odd numbers to Washington.  But the series was immediately reunited for an exhibition that toured the country for two years between 1942 and 1944.  In 1970, and again in 1993, the Migration Series became the focus of a major exhibition introducing new generations to the work of this venerated American Master. 
There was, therefore, a long history of mutual affection when, in 1999, Mr. Lawrence, his wife and partner Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence, and The Phillips Collection began planning for the great retrospective exhibition that will open here this month.  Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence was organized in conjunction with the publication of a distinguished, two volume study prepared under the supervision of Peter Nesbett and the Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonné Project.  The exhibition will bring together over 200 works spanning the breadth of Lawrence's long career and will include several complete narrative cycles.  Senior Curator, Elizabeth Hutton Turner, a noted Lawrence authority, has guided this process from its origins.  Following its opening venue at the Phillips, it will travel to the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; The Detroit Institute of Arts; the Los Angeles County Museum; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
     
Jay Gates

Jay Gates, Director

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