WASHINGTON.- A masterpiece of narrative painting, Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series is an unforgettable work portraying the 20th-century exodus of more than a million African Americans from the rural South to the industrial North. Rarely seen in its entirety, the 60-panel cycle will be reunited for a limited time at The Phillips Collection in The Great American Epic: Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series. The exhibition will take an in-depth look at Lawrence’s powerful interpretation of this significant chapter in American history and examine how the story and its messages still resonate today. Showcasing the remarkable scope and ambition of the series, The Great American Epic will be presented exclusively at The Phillips Collection from May 3 through Oct. 26, 2008.

In 1940, after receiving a fellowship from the Rosenwald Fund, Lawrence was
Jacob Lawrence The Migration Series (1940-41) Panel no. 3 “From every
southern town migrants left by the hundreds to travel north.” casein tempera on
hardboard, 12 x 18 in., The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C., acquired 1942

One of the great storytellers of his generation, Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) completed The Migration Series in 1941 at the young age of 23. Capturing racial
ruptures of the day, Lawrence recorded the search of a people for greater economic and social justice. His vision was completed in horizontal and vertical panels of the same small size, measuring only 12 inches by 18 inches. Like
story boards for a film, they are numbered and sequenced by scene
and accompanied by a carefully researched script.

In 1940, after receiving a fellowship from the Rosenwald Fund, Lawrence was able to rent studio space in Harlem to lay out the 60 panels. He painted the cycle all at
once, color by color, building up patterns and color harmonies to ensure the visual unity of the entire series. Conceived as word and image, Lawrence’s epic statement was not only an African-American story, but also a story that tapped universal concerns for justice, freedom, and human rights. In describing the series in 1992, Lawrence said, “I would hope that…it represents a fabric of our people, of our history, and when I say our history I mean American history.”

"The Phillips Collection's Migration Series provides the lasting image of a period
of transformative change in our nation's history," said Jim Cicconi, senior executive vice president, external and legislative affairs, AT&T. "AT&T is honored to support this wonderful exhibition, which will provide an enriching educational opportunity to students, teachers, and the public."