Painting Harlem modern : the art of Jacob Lawrence
(Book)

"Ahmanson Murphy fine arts imprint"--Preliminary page.

"Published with the assistance of the Getty Foundation."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-333) and index.

Jacob Lawrence was one of the best-known African American artists of the twentieth century. In "Painting Harlem Modern", Patricia Hills renders a vivid assessment of Lawrence's long and productive career. She argues that his complex, cubist-based paintings developed out of a vital connection with a modern Harlem that was filled with artists, writers, musicians, and social activists. She also uniquely positions Lawrence alongside such important African American writers as Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, and Ralph Ellison. Drawing from a wide range of archival materials and interviews with artists, Hills interprets Lawrence's art as distilled from a life of struggle and perseverance. -- From publisher's description.