Book Description

Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence includes essays by eight distinguished art historians examining the ways in which Jacob Lawrence's art speaks so powerfully to different audiences. It is the first multi-author, in-depth probe of the artist's entire career: the nature of his work, his education, the critical climate in which he worked, and his use of materials and techniques. It reproduces, in full color, more than 200 works, most of which have not been published in color, or at all, in other books on the artist. An extensive chronology, collating events in his life with his public reception--including selected exhibitions, publications, honors, and awards--is illustrated with family photographs.

Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) spent his childhood in New York City, attending classes at the Harlem Community Art Center and the American Artists School, and later working for the Federal Art Project. While still in his twenties Lawrence exhibited his paintings at major museums across the country, including the Phillips Collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where he became the first African American artist represented in the permanent collection. He lived, painted, and taught in New York City until 1971, when he moved to Seattle to join the faculty of the University of Washington. He was the recipient of numerous awards including the National Medal of Arts.

The paperback edition of Over the Line is published in conjunction with a major exhibition opening at the Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, on May 26, 2001, and traveling to the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

What a great book; what a great artist!!!
Jacob Lawrence, who died a year ago at age 82, was one of the great American artists of the 20th century -- or any century for that matter. I had the privilege recently of viewing "The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence" at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, and was extremely impressed. If you can't make it to the Phillips Collection, this book is the next best thing, with more than 200 full color reproductions of Lawrence's work.

And what a powerful body of work it is, mainly -- but not only -- on the African-American experience. Themes include: slavery; escape via the Underground Railroad; heros and heroines like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman (plus Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture); black migration to the North; continued persecution (lynchings, Jim Crow) well into the 20th century; the Harlem Renaissance; and more. Lawrence's style is simple (but NOT simplistic!), urgent, and direct, using inexpensive materials (cheap store-bought poster paints on hardboard -- whatever Lawrence could afford), which give new meaning to the expression, "less is more!" You get the feeling in looking at these paintings that Lawrence HAD to paint, to bear witness, and to let the world know the situation of his people.

"Over the Line" is a valuable book for many reasons. For one thing, my understanding is that these paintings, sketches, etc. have never before been published in color, or at all, in any other books on Lawrence. "Over the Line" also give you information on Lawrence's life, which was very interesting in its own right. Finally, these painting are simply a joy to look at, over and over, which this book will allow you to do. I strongly recommend that you get a hold of it! ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Complete Jacob Lawrence, a large, two-volume set on the late African American artist who died in June 2000, is so thoughtfully conceived that in addition to admiration, a reader feels gratitude for it. Over the Line, a book of biographical and critical essays, and its companion, a catalogue raisonné, are exactly what Lawrence deserves. A successful artist both in and out of the mainstream throughout most of the 20th century, he was also handily pigeonholed. A social realist, a modernist, and a storyteller, he was described as "self-taught," "primitive," "jazz-age," "narrative," and, above all, "African American." But the eight richly detailed essays in Over the Line show his complex work--in which the threads of abstraction and narrative are tightly woven--in all its magnitude. The books possess unusual authority, as all of the writers knew Lawrence to some extent, and Lawrence's wife, the artist Gwendolyn Knight, was instrumental in the project's fruition.

When Lawrence was a professor of painting, a graduate teaching assistant complained to him that her students resisted her instructions. His response was, "Tell them they're absolutely right. And then tell them to do it your way." This confidence in the validity of different points of view allowed him to express everything he knew about the hardships of African American life while remaining open and interested in everything the world had to offer. His last great series, "The Builders," is a moving metaphor for harmony, showing carpenters of all skin shades working together with hammers, nails, saws, and other tools to construct--what? A better life? A better country? A better world? Lawrence's point was never so reductive. It was enough that they were working side by side. As a Washington Post critic once wrote, "An aura of affection, goodwill and respect, both given and received, shines around the man, and like armor around his art." --Peggy Moorman ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Complete Jacob Lawrence
Jacob Lawrence spent his fascinating, fruitful life building
an enormous contribution to the world of art and this two-volume
set captures nearly every aspect of it in an absolutely beautiful
fashion... owning this set is an honor. Open either volume ANYWHERE
and it becomes immediately clear that the authors and publisher have
done their work well. To have us understand at the outset that
the artist operated far beyond the scope of the ordinary and into a
full grasp of all sorts of levels of abstraction is quite an
accomplishment in and of itself. These books do it. To be able to see
all the known paintings, drawings and sketches is great. To also read
about the life of such a brilliant person, the background for his
works, his long and
"without-whom-it-wouldn't-have-been-possible"marriage to his
equally-talented and beautiful wife Gwen, along with the history of the
styles and media pushes the palette into the soul of the reader!
... Read more

Book Description

Beginning with his first published print in 1963, Jacob Lawrence produced a body of prints that is both highly dramatic and intensely personal.This new edition of Jacob Lawrence: Thirty Years of Prints (1963-1993) includes 19 new prints produced by Lawrence since 1993, including 7 from the Toussaint L'Ouverture series. The book includes an essay by Patricia Hills.

In his graphic work, as in his paintings, Lawrence turned to the lessons of history and to his own experience. From depictions of civil rights confrontations to scenes of daily life, these images present a vision of a common struggle toward unity and equality, a universal struggle seated in the depths of the human consciousness. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Brilliant First Monograph
This book is beautifully produced in every way. If you can imagine poetry translated into a visual language, Arreguin's paintings are that... and more! Surely Arreguin is one of the NW's greatest living artists. This book is a truly wonderful introduction to his work.

An artistic genius
Alfredo Arreguin's paintings are spectacular. Arreguin is one of the most important and awe-inspiring artists of the age. This book does an excellent job of detailing his life and art, as well as duplicating the intense colors of his canvasses. I cannot recommend this book enough. It would be a delight on the coffee table or as a gift.

Such a deal for color! What a story!
If you want intense color, intricate patterns and a forever drifting, shifting visual experience, then this book is the Intro to Arreguin for you! There is a color plate on most pages and the text is in English and Spanish in side-by side columns.

This book is so low-priced because 1) the publishers found donors to underwrite this first edition 2) Arreguin is not making a dime in royalties off this book.

If you don't know Arreguin's work yet, just type "Alfredo Arreguin" into your browser's search box and you will get several relevant hits.

Try it, you'll like it!

I bought five copies: four copies for gifts, and one copy for me.

The story of Arreguin's childhood and family turmoil will add some optimism and empathy for troubled children of divorced parents, I hope.

chris matzen
Bremerton, WA 98312 ... Read more

Book Description

This volume presents a selection of paintings, poetry, essays, and ephemeral writings by the Chinese American modernist Yun Gee (1906–1963), together with essays about the artist.

Yun Gee arrived in San Francisco from Guangdong Province at the age of fifteen and within a few years established himself as one of the city’s most daring avant-garde painters. But all of his astonishing efforts with the brush and palette ran up against an intense anti-Chinese sentiment. He seemed never to escape the high social price of being Chinese—not in San Francisco, Paris, or New York, where he ended his days. This collection of writings and images represents the eclectic interests and disappointed hopes of a man who was by turns a political revolutionary, cultural radical, social visionary, teacher, inventor, painter, and poet.

As a unique collection of materials documenting the expressions of an Asian American artist of the first half of the 20th century, this book illuminates not only the life and work of the multifaceted Yun Gee, but also the experiences of Chinese immigrants who came of age in America during the Exclusion Era. Anthony Lee’s essays and the materials he has gathered here reveal the utopianism, anger, and anxiety that were the traces of an entire generation’s racialized existence. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great
I consider this book to be the bible of the work of Jacob Lawrenece. As a collector of Lawrence's work, I must say this book was the first step. I truly believe that this is the one book that captures Jacob Lawrence. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Horn Book Magazine, published by Horn Book, Inc. on September 1, 1993. The length of the article is 404 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: John Brown: One Man Against Slavery.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
Author: Mary M. Burns
Publication: The Horn Book Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 1993
Publisher: Horn Book, Inc.
Volume: v69Issue: n5Page: p617(2)

Article Type: Book Review, Children's Review, Brief Article

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Book Description

This digital document, covering the life and work of Jacob Lawrence, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thomson Gale. The length of the entry is 4376 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Horn Book Magazine, published by Horn Book, Inc. on January 1, 1994. The length of the article is 670 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Great Migration: An American Story.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
Author: Mary M. Burns
Publication: The Horn Book Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 1994
Publisher: Horn Book, Inc.
Volume: v70Issue: n1Page: p88(2)

Article Type: Book Review, Children's Review, Brief Article

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from The American Prospect, published by The American Prospect, Inc. on September 25, 2000. The length of the article is 1723 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Politicians Don't Pander: Political Manipulation and the Loss of Democratic Responsiveness.(Review) (book review)
Author: Daniel Yankelovich
Publication: The American Prospect (Refereed)
Date: September 25, 2000
Publisher: The American Prospect, Inc.
Volume: 11Issue: 21Page: 75

Article Type: Book Review

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Reviews (2)

Breathtaking
Parents hoping to introduce their children to modern American art could do worse than to buy this edition reproducing two series of paintings by Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), one of the finest African American artists in U.S. history.

Published in 1991 by the Hampton University Museum in Virginia, this book contains four essays and reproductions of two Lawrence series, all 32 Frederick Douglass paintings made in 1938 and 1939 and all 31 Harriet Tubman paintings made in 1939 and 1940. Lawrence painted both series and wrote the captions to tell the stories of hope and emancipation of African Americans.

The first three essays, each running 10 to 12 pages, relate how Lawrence developed his series format and, specifically, how he developed the ideas and art in each of these two stories. He was influenced by a belief that African Americans, while not still enslaved, were in 1940 still in "an economic slavery." The stories he featured, while historical, remained relevant to his own period as well. The fourth covers the imagery of struggle.

Bold and unforgiving, Lawrence's vibrant works grew from his own childhood migration--from Atlantic City, New Jersey to Easton, Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia and finally, at 13, to Harlem, from his exposure to African-American culture--and his intensive training in the Utopia Children's House and New Deal-sponsored Harlem Art Workshop of the 1930s. In Harlem, he studied old masters like Giotto and Pieter Breughel the Elder and modern masters like Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cezanne and Henri Matisse.

At that time, the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was still funding public art murals, but Lawrence was too young to gain a commission. Instead, he determined to show the African-American struggle for freedom in real-life stories, tying past to present. From 1938 to 1941, he used the New York public library for research, creating in swift succession five series of paintings telling the stories of Toussaint L'Ouverture, Douglass, Tubman, John Brown, and The Migration of the Negro.

In the middle two series, Lawrence hoped to speak artistically of the legendary escapes from slavery made by two African-American heroes, each of whom led the struggle for ultimate freedom for all. The paintings depicted beatings, coercion, repression and ultimately courageous escapes. The faces and bodies in these works speak of the brutality of slavery and the exhilaration that came from its escape. Lawrence wove bold colors and themes throughout the series, thereby joining each set of paintings into a whole.

He succeeded, too, because these works are as beautiful and wild as anything ever created by van Gogh, and a great deal more hopeful.

Even if you don't want to know all the personal and American history that Lawrence melded in the creation of these works--which I can't imagine--you will relish owning a book containing color plates of two entire series, complete with Lawrence's enthralling captions.

This book is a gem. Alyssa A. Lappen

Gina's Review of this book
My review of this book is somewhat good and somewhat bad, thus I have some good news and some bad. I shall now explain to you the good things about this book. Some of thy good things about this book is that if your deciding to do Frederick Douglass or Harriet Tubman this is a good book for a project but the bad things about the book. Is that say for example you are just doing Harriet Tubman or your just doing Frederick Douglass, it would be difficult to just find information about one, because you could think thier talking about about Harriet you could get the wrong information, and research the wrong information. That is why i would not buy this book, for myself or for anyone that I now. PS: I lllooooovvvvveeeeeeee BILLY ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Presidential Studies Quarterly, published by Center for the Study of the Presidency on June 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1215 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Presidential Power: Forging the Presidency for the Twenty-First Century. (book review)
Author: Joel D. Aberbach
Publication: Presidential Studies Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 2002
Publisher: Center for the Study of the Presidency
Volume: 32Issue: 2Page: 432(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Presidential Studies Quarterly, published by Center for the Study of the Presidency on December 1, 2001. The length of the article is 858 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Politicians Don't Pander: Political Manipulation and the Loss of Democratic Responsiveness. (Book Reviews). (book review)
Author: Diane J. Heith
Publication: Presidential Studies Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2001
Publisher: Center for the Study of the Presidency
Volume: 31Issue: 4Page: 742(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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