The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture

The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture

1986
(American, 1917–2000)
America, 20th century
15 silkscreen prints on paper
Each sheet: 81.6 x 55.9 cm (32 1/8 x 22 in.)
Gift of Agnes Gund in honor of Gordon Gund 2019.79
© The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Catalogue raisonné: Nesbett and Hills L86-2-L97-5
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Jacob Lawrence reinterpreted a series of paintings to make these prints, changing their forms, composition, colors, and scale—a process that he described as “another creative step.”

Description

These prints reinterpret a series of paintings that African American artist Jacob Lawrence made about Toussaint L’Ouverture, a Haitian revolutionary. Born into slavery, L’Ouverture led an uprising that freed Haiti from European rule. After hearing the story as a young man and being struck that it had been omitted from his formal education, Lawrence began to paint episodes from L’Ouverture’s biography, using bright colors and simple forms to evoke its drama.
  • 1999-2007
    Collection of Health Legacy of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH
    2007
    (sale, Swann Galleries, New York, NY, February 6, 2007)
    2008
    (sale, Swann Galleries, New York, NY, February 19, 2008)
    after 2008-2019
    (DC Moore Gallery, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, through Agnes Gund)
    2019-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Nesbett, Peter T. and Patricia Hills. Jacob Lawrence: The Complete Prints, 1963-2000, a Catalogue Raisonné. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2001. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 71-85, nos. L86-2-L97-5
    Salsbury, Britany. “Acquisitions 2019: Prints.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 60, no. 2 (March/April 2020): 22-23. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 23 ['L'Ouverture' and 'The Opener'].
  • New Narratives: Contemporary Works on Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 19, 2023-April 14, 2024).
  • {{cite web|title=The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture|url=false|author=Jacob Lawrence, Lou Stovall Workshop, Inc., Amistad Research Center|year=1986|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2019.79