Rediscovering Jacob Lawrence

When the current exhibition reunited Jacob Lawrence’s Struggle Series...from the History of the American People (1954-56), the project had to move ahead even while 5 of the 30 paintings in the series remained missing. Even experts did not know the whereabouts of these artworks. Since opening, two of those panels have been rediscovered, inviting new questions. How did and do these absences inspire new research and new ways of thinking about artists and art history? What do these events reveal about the marketplace, art, and inspiration? 

Join Dr. Brittany Webb, Evelyn and Will Kaplan Curator of Twentieth-Century Art and the John Rhoden Collection at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and Dr. Austen Barron Bailly, Chief Curator at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, for a conversation looking anew at Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000). They will consider how art lovers, students, artists, and other fans--not just art experts--have found their way to Jacob Lawrence’s work and contribute to our greater understanding of the significance of his art and career. 

About this Program
The Anne Sallee Greenwood Discovery Series is a new annual program celebrating new perspectives in American art and culture. This inaugural program is inspired by the opportunity for our two museums to share publicly the ways in which curators discover shared expertise and interests and how collaboration has the potential to create new audiences for art. This series was made possible thanks to the generosity of Mary Ann and Reed Greenwood, in honor of their daughter, Anne (MFA ’19).