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
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
Subjects
  • 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

Works by this artist (8 items)

View all artworks
Helen Levitt, Mexico City (Boys in School Yard), 1941, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1984.16.1, © 1981, Helen Levitt
Mexico City (Boys in School Yard)
Artist
Date1941
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Helen Levitt, New York, ca. 1942, printed later, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1984.16.3, © 1981, Helen Levitt
New York
Artist
Dateca. 1942, printed later
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Helen Levitt, New York, ca. 1942, printed later, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1984.16.4, © 1981, Helen Levitt
New York
Artist
Dateca. 1942, printed later
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Helen Levitt, New York, ca. 1942, printed later, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William H. Levitt, 1983.74, © 1981, Helen Levitt
New York
Artist
Dateca. 1942, printed later
gelatin silver print
Not on view

Exhibitions

Media - 1986.6.100 - SAAM-1986.6.100_2 - 135134
Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection
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.

More Artworks from the Collection

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Image Not Available
Abraham Lincoln
Artist
Date1904
painted plaster
Not on view
Adolph A. Weinman, Charles Henry Niehaus, 1903, painted plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Marie J. Niehaus, 1946.4.1
Charles Henry Niehaus
Artist
Date1903
painted plaster
Not on view
Gutzon Borglum, Model for Seated Statue of James Smithson, 1904, painted plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1967.116
Model for Seated Statue of James Smithson
Artist
Date1904
painted plaster
On view