Community (study for mural, Jamaica, NY)

Jacob Lawrence, Community (study for mural, Jamaica, NY), 1986, gouache on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1990.36, © 1986, Jacob Lawrence
Copied Jacob Lawrence, Community (study for mural, Jamaica, NY), 1986, gouache on paper, sheet: 30 x 22 1⁄8 in. (76.2 x 56.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1990.36, © 1986, Jacob Lawrence

Artwork Details

Title
Community (study for mural, Jamaica, NY)
Artist
Date
1986
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 30 x 22 1⁄8 in. (76.2 x 56.2 cm)
Copyright
© 1986, Jacob Lawrence
Credit Line
Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program
Mediums
Mediums Description
gouache on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Cityscape — New York — Queens
  • Figure group
  • Cityscape — New York — New York
  • Architecture — industry — construction
  • Study
  • Cityscape — New York — Jamaica
Object Number
1990.36
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1990.36

Artwork Description

Community celebrates the multivalent character of American life. In the 1980s, Lawrence was one of eight artists commissioned to create works on the theme of community for the Joseph P. Addabbo Federal Building in Jamaica, New York. It was an apt subject for Lawrence who frequently acknowledged the value and encouragement of the black community. Walking the streets of Jamaica, Lawrence said, “I was aware of the warmth, rapport, and the exciting movement and counter movements of its many inhabitants. The geometric and organic structures of the doors and various kinds of apparel and facial expressions give an overall special quality to a stimulating and unique environment.”


African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012