Escape

Jacob Lawrence, Escape, 1967, brush and ink, pen and ink, crayon, and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.53
Copied Jacob Lawrence, Escape, 1967, brush and ink, pen and ink, crayon, and pencil on paper, sheet: 22 x 29 1⁄2 in. (56.0 x 74.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.53

Artwork Details

Title
Escape
Artist
Date
1967
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 22 x 29 1⁄2 in. (56.0 x 74.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
brush and ink, pen and ink, crayon, and pencil on paper
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group
  • Fantasy
  • Animal — reptile — snake
  • Allegory — civic — liberty
Object Number
1986.6.53
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.6.53

Artwork Description

“My work is abstract in the sense of having been designed and composed, but it is not abstract in the sense of having no human contact. I want to communicate. I want the idea to strike right away.” ---Jacob Lawrence

Escape is a preliminary study for Through Forests, Through Rivers, Up Mountains, Lawrence’s tribute to Harriet Tubman, who, after her own escape from slavery, helped others negotiate the journey to the northern states and Canada. Communicating his idea forcefully, Lawrence depicted Tubman schematically; her hands are large as they urge fleeing families to move forward.


Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014

Exhibitions

Media - 1986.6.100 - SAAM-1986.6.100_2 - 135134
Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection
October 20, 2018–November 28, 2018
Smithsonian American Art Museum
This exhibition presents some of the most treasured paintings and sculpture from SAAM’s permanent collection, including artworks by Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Edward Hopper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, George Tooker, among others.