Elena Rossi
The Migration of the Negro, retitled The Migration Series, is a group of paintings by African-American painter Jacob Lawrence. The series depicts the migration of African Americans to the northern United States from the South that began in the 1910s. Lawrence completed the series in 1941 when he was 23 years old. The series was exhibited in Washington, D.C., in 1993 under its new title, as the original title had fallen out of favor.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Original Title | The Migration of the Negro |
| Artist | Jacob Lawrence |
| Year Painted | 1940-1941 |
| Age of Artist | 23 |
| Number of Paintings | 60 |
| Painting Size | 12 x 18 inches |
| Painting Medium | Tempera on board |
| Subject | The Great Migration of African Americans |
| Inspiration | Comic books and Mexican muralism |
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What You'll Learn
Jacob Lawrence painted 'The Migration of the Negro' in 1941
Jacob Lawrence painted The Migration of the Negro in 1941, completing his most ambitious project at the young age of 23. The series of paintings depicts the mass exodus of African Americans from the South to the North, which began in the 1910s and lasted until the 1970s. Over six million African Americans fled the segregated South during the Great Migration, seeking better educational facilities, jobs, housing, and freedom from oppression and racial discrimination.
The Migration of the Negro consists of 60 panels, each measuring 12 by 18 inches, painted in casein tempera on hardboard. Lawrence made his own paint, purchasing dry pigments and using them unmixed to maintain colour uniformity across the panels. He worked on all the paintings simultaneously to give them a unified feel, inspired by the comic books and Mexican muralism of the 1920s–1940s.
The series begins with a group of African Americans leaving the South by train, upending Southern Black communities. As more migrants decide to go North, they face new freedoms and new forms of discrimination. Each painting is accompanied by a sentence-long caption, written by Lawrence, explaining aspects of the event. For example, one caption from 1941 reads: "In every town Negroes were leaving by the hundreds to go North and enter into Northern industry."
The Migration of the Negro was originally funded by the Julius Rosenwald Fund and exhibited in 1941 at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, where it is still on display today. The series has been praised for its well-thought-out and researched narrative, doing justice to the Black story it tells. In 1993, the series was retitled The Migration Series as the original title had fallen out of favour.
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The series depicts the Great Migration of African Americans
The Migration Series, originally titled The Migration of the Negro, is a group of paintings by African-American painter Jacob Lawrence. The series depicts the Great Migration, when over one million African Americans left the South in search of a better life. This migration began during World War I and lasted until the 1970s, with African Americans migrating to cities in the North like New York, Detroit, and Chicago. The series was painted in 1940-1941 and consists of 60 panels that tell a story of extreme hardship, injustice, and hope through the use of tempera paint on board. Each panel measures 12 by 18 inches and is accompanied by a sentence-long caption that provides context and explains aspects of the migration event.
The first panel, titled During World War I there was a great migration North by Southern Negroes, sets the tone for the entire series. It depicts a group of faceless, brown-skinned travelers in a restless sea of green and black coats, streaming through three ports: Chicago, New York, and St. Louis. This panel introduces the simplified palette and pared-down formal vocabulary that Lawrence employs throughout the series. The subsequent panels continue the narrative, showcasing the impact of the migration on both the Southern and Northern communities.
Lawrence conceived of the series as a single work rather than individual paintings, and he worked on all the paintings simultaneously to ensure a unified feel and consistent colour palette across the panels. He drew inspiration from comic books and Mexican muralism of the 1920s to 1940s, as well as the music and atmosphere of the Apollo Theater. Lawrence's personal connection to the subject matter is also evident, as his parents were part of the Great Migration, moving from South Carolina to Virginia and eventually to New York.
The Migration Series has been praised for its thoughtful and well-researched portrayal of the Black narrative. It is considered a seminal work in twentieth-century art and continues to be exhibited in museums, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Phillips Collection. The series provides a powerful reflection of a significant historical event, offering insights into the challenges, hopes, and transformations that occurred during the Great Migration.
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The series was renamed 'The Migration Series' in 1993
The Migration Series is a group of paintings by African-American painter Jacob Lawrence. It depicts the migration of African Americans to the northern United States from the South that began in the 1910s. The series was originally titled "The Migration of the Negro" but was renamed "The Migration Series" in 1993 when it was exhibited in Washington, D.C.
The series consists of 60 paintings, each with a sentence-long caption explaining aspects of the Great Migration. Lawrence conceived of the series as a single work rather than individual paintings and worked on all of the paintings simultaneously to give them a unified feel and keep the colours uniform across the panels. The paintings were created using casein tempera paint applied to hardboard panels, with a traditional gesso layer of rabbit-skin glue and whiting.
The Migration Series tells the story of the Great Migration, when over one million African Americans left the South in search of a better life. The series begins with a group of African Americans leaving the South by train, upending Southern Black communities as they grapple with the decision to make the journey north. As the series progresses, more and more migrants decide to leave, facing new freedoms and new forms of discrimination in the North.
The series was first exhibited in New York in 1941 and has been praised for its well-thought-out and researched narrative, doing justice to the Black narrative. It is considered Jacob Lawrence's most famous piece and is still displayed in both the Philips Collection and the Museum of Modern Art.
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The series was inspired by comic books and Mexican muralism
The Migration Series, originally titled The Migration of the Negro, is a group of paintings by African-American painter Jacob Lawrence. It depicts the migration of African Americans to the northern United States from the South, which began in the 1910s. The series was painted and published in 1941 when Lawrence was just 23 years old.
The series consists of 60 panels, each measuring 12 by 18 inches, recounting a tale of hardship, injustice, and hope. The narrative is told through images and words, with sentence-long captions explaining aspects of the event. The impact and presentation of the series are comparable to that of a comic book, a form that Lawrence was deeply inspired by.
In addition to comic books, Lawrence was also influenced by Mexican muralism of the 1920s to 1940s. During this period, there was a significant cultural exchange between the United States and Mexico, with artists and intellectuals travelling between the two countries. Mexican muralists like José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros brought their art and techniques to the United States, exhibiting, selling their work, and creating large-scale murals. Their work often portrayed social and political subjects, offering an alternative aesthetic that resonated with the public during the Great Depression.
Lawrence's series showcases techniques from both comic books and Mexican muralism. He conceived of the series as a unified work, painting all the panels simultaneously to maintain colour uniformity. He created his own casein tempera, using dry pigments to ensure consistent colours across the panels. The Migration Series, with its narrative structure, choreography of themes, and use of colours and shapes, demonstrates Lawrence's careful consideration of the progression from one image to the next.
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The series was exhibited in New York's Museum of Modern Art in 2015
The Migration Series, originally titled The Migration of the Negro, is a group of paintings by African-American painter Jacob Lawrence. The series depicts the migration of African Americans to the northern United States from the South that began in the 1910s. The series was painted in 1940-1941 and consists of 60 panels using tempera paint on board. Each panel measures 12 by 18 inches and is accompanied by a sentence-long caption written by Lawrence. The series was conceived as a single work rather than individual paintings, with Lawrence working on all the paintings simultaneously to maintain a unified feel and uniform colours.
The series has been exhibited in various museums and galleries since its completion, including the Phillips Collection and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, where it has been on display since 1941. In 2015, New York's Museum of Modern Art honoured the history depicted in the series by displaying all 60 paintings together for the first time since 2008. The exhibition was titled "One-Way Ticket: Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series and Other Visions of the Great Movement North".
The Migration Series holds significant historical and artistic value, telling the story of the Great Migration through a combination of visual narrative and text. The series showcases Lawrence's careful consideration of the progression from one image to the next, drawing comparisons to the choreography of film storyboards. The use of colour and shape in the paintings reflects the excitement, crowds, and tension of the migration.
The series also holds personal significance for Lawrence, who moved to Harlem at the age of thirteen and would have been familiar with the migration through his own family members. The subject matter of the series is deeply connected to his life and experiences, as he stated: "It was... so much a part of my life. I became conscious of these things when I was eight or nine years old, and this consciousness remained, and this is what you see in the Migrations."
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Frequently asked questions
The Migration of the Negro was painted between 1940 and 1941.
'The Migration of the Negro' depicts the migration of African Americans to the northern United States from the South, which began in the 1910s.
'The Migration of the Negro' was painted by African-American painter Jacob Lawrence.
