African-American art

It’s nice to end the year 2025 with the first European retrospective of the work of African-American artist Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) – at Kunsthal KAdE Amersfoort, the Netherlands. Lawrence’s breakthrough came in 1941 with his iconic series of paintings, ‘The Great Migration’, a series of sixty panels. Key themes in the artist’s oeuvre include life in Harlem in the mid-twentieth century, African-American history, the Black struggle for civil rights, and – toward the end of his life – ‘builders’ as a symbol for craftsmen who helped rebuild the country. Throughout the twentieth century, Lawrence – with his colourful, figurative-cubist style – remained a key representative of African-American art, whose choice of subject matter focused on Black history in the United States. Favas.net concludes this month with three themes from the African-American art of Jacob Lawrence.

Migration

Harlem

Builders

Source: Kunsthal Kade (adapted and translated by Favas.net)
Images: Favas.net (at Kunsthal Kade, December 26, 2025)