Story Art – Jacob Lawrence
2nd Grade February Art Project
West Mercer Elementary Art Enrichment Program
Today’s Project- Story Art
Part 1
• Jacob Lawrence
• The Great
Migration
• Pencil, crayon,
captions
Part 2
• Paint
Jacob Lawrence
• Born in 1917 in New Jersey
• His parents moved from
the south to make a better
life
• In New York, he learned
about African American
history and art
• Gained a reputation as a
history painter
– Commissioned to paint the
Great Migration series
• Taught art at the University
of Washington
Events leading to the Great Migration-1
• In the south, much
of the land is rural
farmland
• After slavery was
abolished, many
slaves stayed to
work the land
• The were not paid
well and so were
too poor to own
land
Events leading to the Great Migration-2
• Pests and floods
ruined crops
Panel 9: “They left because
the boll weevil had ravaged
the cotton crop.”
• Children worked
in the fields with
their parents
Panel 24: “The children
were forced to work in the
fields. They could not go to
school.”
Events leading to the Great Migration-3
• In the south, they experienced discrimination
Panel 14:
“For African
Americans
there was no
justice in the
southern
courts.”
Panel 19:
“There had
always been
discrimination.”
Events leading to the Great Migration-4
• World War I
changed industry in
the north
– Many white men
went off to war
making a shortage
of workers
– Industrial
production
increased
• Panel 1: "During the World
War there was a great
migration North by Southern
Negroes." (1940-41)
The Great Migration
The Great Migration- 1
• 1 million African
Americans moved north
• They moved mostly to
Chicago, Detroit, New
York City, Pittsburgh,
Philadelphia, Cleveland,
Cincinnati, and
Columbus
Panel 36: “Migrants arrived in
Chicago, the gateway to the west.”
Panel 45: "They arrived in Pittsburgh,
one of the great industrial centers of
the North, in large numbers."
Great Migration- 2
• Moving to the north did
improve their lives
• Voting, education,
empowerment, and
community
Panel 58: “In the north, the
African American had more
educational opportunities.”
Panel 59: “In the north, they
had the freedom to vote.”
The Great Migration- 3
• Life in the
north also had
its challenges
–Housing
became scarce
–Discrimination
Panel 49: “They found
discrimination in the north. It was
a different kind.”
The Migration Series
• 60 paintings done
all at the same
time, color by color
• Paintings numbered
and with captions
to tell a story
• Style called
expressive cubism
• Panel 3: “ From every
southern town, migrants
left by the hundreds to
travel north.”
Story Art
•Whose story is he
telling?
•How does he show
the people?
•How does he show
objects?
Panel 31: “Migrants found
improved housing when
they arrived north.”
Panel 60: “And the
migrants kept coming.”
What kinds of colors does he use?
Panel 5: “Migrants were advanced
passage on the railroads, paid for by
northern industries.”
Panel 39: “ Railroad platforms were piled
high with luggage.”
Step 1- Choose scenes
• Tell a story of migration by choosing 2
different scenes
– Life in the South
– Journey north
– Life in the north
• Scenes should include
– people (one, a family, or more)
– Simple shapes (a person can be a circle and
rectangles)
– Big shapes (no fine details)
• Sketch 2 scenes on scratch paper
Step 2- Canvas Paper
• Names on the back
(white side)
• Paper in landscape
orientation
• Draw scenes in
pencil
• Trace in black crayon
Step 3- Captions
• 2 yellow strips
• Write names on
back in pencil
• Write simple
sentences to
describe your
scenes
• Get ok from a
parent
• Trace in sharpie
pen
Part 2 - Step 4- Tempera paint
• Lawrence used
only simple, bright
colors
• Black, white,
brown
• Red, blue, yellow,
green