<I>No. 1 John Brown, a man who had a fanatical belief that he was chosen by God to overthrow black slavery in America.</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1977
name: label: Created by
content: Jacob Lawrence, American, 1917 - 2000
label: Subject of
content: John Brown, American, 1800 - 1859
label: Printed by
content: Ives-Sillman, Inc., American, founded 1966
notes: label: Caption
content: “John Brown worked not simply for Black men—he worked with them; and he was a companion of their daily life, knew their faults and virtues, and felt, as few white Americans have felt, the bitter tragedy of their lot.” —W. E. B. Du Bois, John Brown, 1909
label: Caption
content: Radical abolitionist John Brown (1800–1859) fought and died for the emancipation of enslaved people. His life as an antislavery advocate and armed insurrectionist who was tried, convicted, and hanged for his rebellion has served as inspiration for numerous artists since his death. However, it would not be until 1941, when Jacob Lawrence created a narrative series of 22 paintings, that Brown’s life was visually documented in its entirety. Between 1974 and 1977, Lawrence recreated his series in print form.
label: Description
content: A screen print from the series “The Legend of John Brown” by Jacob Lawrence. The print depicts Jesus crucified on a black cross with long, yellow nails. Red blood drips from the feet of Jesus onto the ground. John Brown stands at the foot of the cross, his back leaning against it with only his right face profile visible. The background consists of a brown hill on the left and a dark blue sky.
label: Description
content: On the front of the print, the artist wrote the series number and edition in the lower left corner [#1 51/60] and signed and dated in the lower right corner [Jacob Lawrence 1977].
place: label: Place printed
content: New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Antislavery
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Christianity
label: Topic
content: Resistance
label: Topic
content: Slavery
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 1815-1861
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Portfolio/Series
content: The Legend of John Brown
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
label: Movement
content: Abolitionist movement
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2007.6.1.1
objectType: label: Type
content: screen prints
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © 2015 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: printing ink on printing paper
label: Dimensions
content: 20 x 25 in. (50.8 x 63.5 cm)