Jacob Lawrence | African American Modernist

Kunsthal KAdE shows the first retrospective exhibition in Europe of the African-American artist Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000). Lawrence made his breakthrough in 1941 with his iconic series of paintings entitled 'The Great Migration', a series consisting of 60 panels, half of which are on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and half at the Phillips Collection in Washington. In this series, he tells the story of the mass migration of the Black population from the south of the United States to the north. Throughout his oeuvre, Jacob Lawrence focused on African-American history. Jacob Lawrence developed his own autonomous painting style in the twilight years of the Harlem Renaissance and is considered one of the most important African-American painters of the 20^th century.

"In Europe he is unjustly less known, reason for Kunsthal KAdE in Amersfoort to come up with Jacob Lawrence. African American Modernist, a major retrospective of this overwhelming artist." NRC 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴

African-American modernist Jacob Lawrence

The overview in Amersfoort encompasses his entire oeuvre, from his early work in Harlem, New York, in the 1930s to his final decades in Seattle. The exhibition will feature 70 paintings, 25 drawings and 75 prints, as well as photographs and objects from the artist's estate. Among other things, it will include various panels from his famous 'Migration Series’, panels from the ‘Struggle Series' (a series that was the subject of a traveling exhibition in the United States a few years ago) and paintings and drawings surrounding Harriet Tubman, the woman who, through the Underground Railroad rescued dozens of enslaved people from the U.S. South. 

“Jacob Lawrence shaped the African-American experience. Sixty years after the fact, his art is painfully currentl." Volkskrant ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Important themes in the artist's oeuvre include life in Harlem in the mid-twentieth century, African-American history, the struggle of the Black population for civil rights and – at the end of his life – “builders” as a symbol of craftsmen who help build the country. Jacob Lawrence's work is characterised by a figurative, narrative style, in which he uses “cubist” colour fields in compositions without any emphatic depth effect.

In addition to the series on Tubman, Jacob Lawrence painted series on important historical figures such as Fredrick Douglass (champion of the abolition of slavery), Toussaint L'Ouverture (resistance fighter, who as a former slave was at the forefront of the first autonomous Black republic of Haiti) and John Brown (a white abolitionist who was sentenced to death after plotting an uprising against slavery). The exhibition will focus extensively on the background of the African-American histories that Lawrence depicted.

“Nowhere is there a word too many. As you read, look at another painting and take in the next little text, you know: this is not only very good but also very important. No president with dictatorial tendencies should simply try to erase that..” Museum Magazine

Get to know artist Jacob Lawrence

In the United States, Lawrence is a well-known name and part of many permanent collections of major art museums. In Europe, he is virtually unknown.

“Individual works [by Jacob Lawrence] had occasionally been exhibited in Europe, but a comprehensive overview of his work in Europe was still lacking. Now that has been achieved, and the result is spectacular. The exhibition traces Lawrence's work from his earliest pieces, when he was a young man in Harlem capturing everyday life, to his later series. This is remarkable, because many of his paintings are on permanent display in American museums. Individual series have been the subject of exhibitions in recent years, but such a large retrospective is truly unique.” The Mirror

This first overview of his work in Europe not only offers an opportunity to become acquainted with his multifaceted artistic oeuvre, but also to learn about the historical stories he painted. Both the important advocates for the abolition of slavery – such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman – and moments from the struggle for freedom in the United States in general and the civil rights struggle in the 1950s and 1960s in particular are featured. In addition, Lawrence painted daily life in Harlem, New York, for decades.

“Jacob Lawrence: African American sparks a desire to understand the broader world in which Lawrence worked, including the social history, artistic networks, and political urgency of the time.” GLEAN

In order to tell you more about the life, oeuvre and historical stories behind Jacob Lawrence's works, we have created a website Here, we take you on a journey through Jacob Lawrence's life. We tell you about his upbringing, his early work in Harlem in the 1930s, and his final decades in Seattle. We also highlight different periods, works and historical figures that he captured in his art. We will also share various important milestones in African-American history on this website, stories that are in danger of being overlooked due to the current political climate in the United States.

"That [always socially engaged work from a side of the story hitherto lacking in art] makes his work special as well as urgent. Because these very subjects are once again under pressure in the U.S. with a government that wants to actively censor art that would be too 'woke'. The incredibly rich survey in Amersfoort is a tour de force of loans from American institutions. Room after room, Lawrence's oeuvre asks one, recurring question: whose is history?" Volkskrant ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Additional information

Visual artist Barbara Earl Thomas - former student of Lawrence in Seattle - pays homage to the master with four specially created works.

For the exhibition, poet and performer Dean Bowen has made an artistic contribution to each room in the form of texts reflecting on the works of Jacob Lawrence.

A comprehensive catalog has been published featuring all the works from the exhibition and accompanying documentary material. The book—288 pages in color—is available at the KAdEShop (€30) and online via Ideabooks. 

There is also a graphic novel about the life of Jacob Lawrence created by comic book artist Rashad Doucet. It is available in the KAdEShop (€15)

Loans for the exhibition come from private individuals and museums in the United States.

Kunsthal KAdE previously featured six works by Jacob Lawrence in 2020 in the exhibition 'Tell Me Your Story' by curator Rob Perrée.

The exhibition "Jacob Lawrence, African American modernist" will be on view from Sept. 27, 2025 to Jan. 4, 2026.

Purchase your tickets in advance using the button below!

The exhibition is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Mondriaan Fonds, Blockbuster Fonds (VandenEnde Foundation, het Cultuurfonds, VSBfonds and the Vriendenloterij)), Vriendenloterij, Fonds 21, het Cultuur fonds and National Cultural Heritage Agency (Indemnity Scheme).

In the city of Amersfoort, there is a lot of attention for the exhibition, partner Citymarketing Amersfoort created a detailed webpage with information about Jacob Lawrence and his work.