JACOB LAWRENCE

Jacob Lawrence (American, 1917–2000), The Libraries Are Appreciated, 1943
From the Harlem series, No. 28, The Harlem Branch Library of the New York Public Library at 9 West 124th Street
Opaque watercolor over graphite on textured cream wove paper, 13 9/16 × 20 15/16 inches (34.5 × 53.2 cm). The Louis E. Stern Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1963-181-40
© 2025 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

This scene is one of thirty images of Harlem by the noted African American painter Jacob Lawrence. Exhibited at The Downtown Gallery, New York, in 1943, the series depicts the rich contrasts of life in that section of Manhattan during World War II, with its poverty and its amusements, its home life and its street activities.