Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence [Paperback]

Elizabeth Hutton Turner (Author), Patricia Hills (Author), Paul J. Karlstrom (Author), Leslie King-Hammond (Author), Lizzetta LeFalle-Collins (Author), Richard J. Powell (Author), Lowery Stokes Sims (Author), Elizabeth Steele (Author), Peter T. Nesbett (Editor), Jacob Lawrence (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2001

"Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence" includes essays by eight distinguished art historians examining the ways in which Jacob Lawrence's art speaks so powerfully to different audiences. It is the first multi-author, in-depth probe of the artist's entire career: the nature of his work, his education, the critical climate in which he worked, and his use of materials and techniques. It reproduces, in full colour, more than 200 works, most of which have not been published in colour, or at all, in other books on the artist. An extensive chronology, collating events in his life with his public reception - including selected exhibitions, publications, honours, and awards - is illustrated with family photographs. Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) spent his childhood in New York City, attending classes at the Harlem Community Art Center and the American Artists School, and later working for the Federal Art Project. While still in his twenties Lawrence exhibited his paintings at major museums across the country, including the Phillips Collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where he became the first African American artist represented in the permanent collection. He lived, painted, and taught in New York City until 1971, when he moved to Seattle to join the faculty of the University of Washington. He was the recipient of numerous awards including the National Medal of Arts. The paperback edition of "Over the Line" is published in conjunction with a major exhibition opening at the Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, and travelling to the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Peter T. Nesbett was the director and Michelle DuBois the associate director of the Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonne Project. The contributors to "Over the Line" include Patricia Hills, Paul J. Karlstrom, Leslie King-Hammond, Lizzetta LaFalle-Collins, Richard J. Powell, Lowery Stokes Sims, Elizabeth Steele, and Elizabeth Hutton Turner.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-An excellent supplement to both art and African-American studies. Although taken from Peter Nesbett and Michelle DuBois's extensive, more expensive, two-volume work, The Complete Jacob Lawrence (University of Washington, 2000), Over the Line is an academic resource for more advanced students. Eight essays by prominent art historians examine Lawrence's life, techniques, style, reasons for his popularity, and the relationship of his art to events in African-American history. This quality text is interspersed with copious full-color reproductions. Many are full page; all of the plates are of high quality. This is the first time that many of Lawrence's works have been reproduced in color. The detailed index may be difficult to locate as it precedes nearly 50 pages of information on the current traveling exhibition of Lawrence's work.

Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

It was not until relatively late in his life that the first scholarly monograph on Jacob Lawrence appeared, yet in the last 15 years significant attention has been paid to this giant figure in African American art history. The two-volume set under review is the result of over five years' effort to document Lawrence's entire artistic output, directed by Nesbett and DuBois and with the participation of the artist. It is indeed unfortunate that Lawrence's death occurred before he could see publication. The first volume, Over the Line, consists primarily of a series of scholarly essays, proposing chronological stages in the artist's evolution and providing an overview of Lawrence's life and artistic development, with special focus on the social, racial, and economic conditions expressed in his art. Accompanying the text are 150 color illustrations, an extensive bibliography, an outline biography, and more. The second volume is a true catalogue raisonn consisting of almost 1000 works, mostly in color, arranged by media and date. Unfortunately, some of the reproductions are too small to allow for full appreciation. Truly a prodigious research effort, "The Complete Jacob Lawrence" honors a great artist and gives testimony to his contribution to modern American art. Highly recommended for any library with an interest in the arts.DEugene C. Burt, Seattle
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: University of Washington Press; 1st edition (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0295979658
• ISBN-13: 978-0295979656
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #491,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great book; what a great artist!!!, July 20, 2001

By 

L. Feld "lowkell" (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence (Paperback)

Jacob Lawrence, who died a year ago at age 82, was one of the great American artists of the 20th century -- or any century for that matter. I had the privilege recently of viewing "The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence" at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, and was extremely impressed. If you can't make it to the Phillips Collection, this book is the next best thing, with more than 200 full color reproductions of Lawrence's work.

And what a powerful body of work it is, mainly -- but not only -- on the African-American experience. Themes include: slavery; escape via the Underground Railroad; heros and heroines like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman (plus Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture); black migration to the North; continued persecution (lynchings, Jim Crow) well into the 20th century; the Harlem Renaissance; and more. Lawrence's style is simple (but NOT simplistic!), urgent, and direct, using inexpensive materials (cheap store-bought poster paints on hardboard -- whatever Lawrence could afford), which give new meaning to the expression, "less is more!" You get the feeling in looking at these paintings that Lawrence HAD to paint, to bear witness, and to let the world know the situation of his people.

"Over the Line" is a valuable book for many reasons. For one thing, my understanding is that these paintings, sketches, etc. have never before been published in color, or at all, in any other books on Lawrence. "Over the Line" also give you information on Lawrence's life, which was very interesting in its own right. Finally, these painting are simply a joy to look at, over and over, which this book will allow you to do. I strongly recommend that you get a hold of it!

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete Jacob Lawrence, October 11, 2000

By 

William S. Stella (Mukilteo, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Jacob Lawrence (Hardcover)

Jacob Lawrence spent his fascinating, fruitful life building
an enormous contribution to the world of art and this two-volume
set captures nearly every aspect of it in an absolutely beautiful
fashion... owning this set is an honor. Open either volume ANYWHERE
and it becomes immediately clear that the authors and publisher have
done their work well. To have us understand at the outset that
the artist operated far beyond the scope of the ordinary and into a
full grasp of all sorts of levels of abstraction is quite an
accomplishment in and of itself. These books do it. To be able to see
all the known paintings, drawings and sketches is great. To also read
about the life of such a brilliant person, the background for his
works, his long and
"without-whom-it-wouldn't-have-been-possible"marriage to his
equally-talented and beautiful wife Gwen, along with the history of the
styles and media pushes the palette into the soul of the reader!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Eurocentrically Selective, June 16, 2007

By 

The Djeli (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence (Paperback)

True, this is a large collection of Lawrence's work, however it is very incomplete. In the beginning of Lawrence's career, only 21 years old, he produced the Toussaint L'Ouverture Series. A 41 panel series dedicated to the struggle of enslaved Africans and their victory, which was never more blatantly successful than that of Haiti under the slave-born revolutionary known as Toussaint L'Ouverture. In 1938, when this series was completed it was so monumental for the Pan-African American experience, yet this book refuses to acknowledge it.

First, there is only one print, and one that is subtle and not graphic (such as black soldiers defeating whites which was a major theme of the series). It is an insult to the origin of Lawrence's genius and his legacy, especially in regards to pre-Civil Rights African America:which was his community, not the pseudo-intermingled America of today that is now trying to claim him as an "American" artist, taking away his true existence as an African American artist, not American, especially during an era when his people were so restricted from full citizenship.

Only purchase this book if you want a false story, one that ignores and criticizes (the author had the audacity to ridicule Lawrence for the Toussaint Series because the author claims Lawrence was not knowledgable about the Haitian revolution). Though I think Lawrence was aware, it is irrelevant. As a black man descended from slaves, the revolution was within him, he did not have to read about it. He felt it. The Haitian revolution belongs not to just Haiti, it is a symbol of the enslaved African's struggle against white oppression and the ability to be victorious at it. Even if that is all he knew, it is enough. He did not have to read about a struggle for equality, it was his very existence.