Community (study for mural, Jamaica, NY)

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: Jacob Lawrence
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: gouache
Mediums Description: gouache on paper
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Cityscape — New York — Queens
Cityscape — New York — Jamaica
Study
Architecture — industry — construction
Figure group
Cityscape — New York — New York
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