I. Artist Biography A. Jacob Lawrence born in Atlantic City, New Jersey parents are Jacob and Rosa Lee Lawrence. At the age of 13 Lawrence moves to Harlem with his mother where in grammar and Junior High school, Lawrence would spend his time painting nonfigurative geometric designs and make papier mache mask and three-dimensional stagelike tableaux in small boxes. In 1932 (until) 1934 he would study art at the WPA Harlem Art workshop in the New York Public Library, classes Sponsored by the College art Association. During 1935 Jacob Lawrence meets “Professor” Charles Siefert, a lecturer and historian who has a large library of African and African American literature. Seifert would encourage Lawrence to use his library and make use of the Arthur …show more content…
Cultural 1.) The experience of African American Life during a very racial intolerable and injustice time for the American culture as a society. This would heavily influence the inspiration behind many of Jacob Lawrence’s earlier works and would be very important in changing the satirical view of his art into a more social and political statement. This would be the art that highlights a very important time for African American History shaping the way was used in Harlem and documenting the everyday life and experience of the improvised African American. 2.) Although highlighting some of the more undesirable parts of African American history this Art would be a defining staple in providing African American’s an identity in a society that for 100 hundreds of years preceding this time period of defined African American’s as property. Jacob Lawrence helps provide a face to the struggling African American man, woman and child at during this time. B. Social 1.) Living within a society that was plagued with social injustice would make a heavy impact on the young artist searching for inspiration. This would start with just the daily scene of his life, painting portraits of himself in his studio as well as crimes and other Harlem problems he would encounter. This would later be shifted into a global awareness for the injustice of a corrupt social class system that would place minorities at the