RICHMOND.- In 1941, while living in New Orleans with his new wife, Gwendolyn, 24-year-old artist Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) began a series of gouache paintings focused on the life of the abolitionist John Brown. More than 35 years later, the deteriorating paintings were in the permanent collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Lawrence revisited the series to produce screenprints based on the originals. The result was a limited edition portfolio of 22 hand-screened prints produced by Ives-Silverman Inc. of New Haven, Conn. They were published by the Founders Society of the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1978. A poem, “John Brown,” by Robert Hayden was commissioned to accompany the portfolio.

The narrative tells the story of Brown’s assault on slavery by force with the support of Northern abolitionists. His most famous act was the ill-fated attack on the U.S. Armory at Harpers Ferry, Va., in 1859. Brown was captured, convicted of treason and hanged.

“The inspiration to paint the . . . ‘John Brown’ series was motivated by historical events as told to us by the adults of our community . . . the black community. The relating of these events, for many of us, was not only very informative but also most exciting; to us, the men and women of theses stories were strong, daring and heroic; and therefore we could and did relate to these by means of poetry, song and paint,” Lawrence said.

The historic set of prints is on loan from collector Derrick Johnson of Richmond and is supported by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. It is one of more than 50 exhibitions organized by VMFA for statewide travel.