Jacob Lawrence and the Legend of John Brown

January 16, 2024–June 16, 2024

Larry and Barbara Marshall Family Balcony

Rear view of seven armed men, both Black and white, looking over a wall while holding pikes and wearing belts filled with ammunition

Jacob Lawrence, John Brown held Harper’s Ferry for twelve hours. His defeat was a few hours off., 1974–1977, Museum purchase: Gift of Jeff and Mary Weinberg, 2020.0068.21

Jacob Lawrence and the Legend of John Brown presents a recently acquired portfolio of prints by the acclaimed Black modernist Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000). Lawrence originally produced The Legend of John Brown as paintings in 1941, but, due to problems related to the stability of the gouache used in the series, in 1974 he collaborated with printers to translate this important body of work to screen prints. Lawrence drew inspiration for the 22 prints in the series from research he conducted at the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library, notably Franklin B. Sanborn’s The Life and Letters of John Brown, Liberator of Kansas and Martyr of Virginia, published in 1885. Lawrence’s account of Brown’s life and death includes consideration of his time in Kansas, where Brown first employed violence in his quest to rid the country of slavery.

Jacob Lawrence
John Brown formed an organization among the colored people of the Adirondack woods to resist the capture of any fugitive slaves.
1974–1977
Jacob Lawrence
John Brown took to guerrilla warfare.
1974–1977
Jacob Lawrence
John Brown’s victory at Black Jack drove those pro-slavery to new fury, and those who were anti-slavery to new efforts.
1974–1977
Jacob Lawrence
John Brown, after long meditation, planned to fortify himself somewhere in the mountains of Virginia or Tennessee and there make raids on surrounding plantations, freeing slaves.
1974–1977
Jacob Lawrence
After John Brown’s capture, he was put on trial for his life in Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia).
1974–1977

Supporters

The portfolio was purchased with a generous gift from Jeff and Mary Weinberg and the exhibition is supported by KU Student Senate and the Linda Inman Bailey Exhibitions Fund.

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