The Carpenters

American, 1917 - 2000

Beginning in the mid-1940s, Jacob Lawrence created numerous scenes of carpenters. More than pictures of construction sites, these images are about labor and opportunity in the African American community, where jobs in masonry and carpentry proliferated with the expansion of the building industry following World War II. Here, two men drill and saw into planks that crisscross the picture plane in an organizing grid, while a third takes a breather, supported by the strength of his powerful arms.

Color silkscreen

26 1/2 x 29 x 1 in. (67.3 x 73.7 x 2.5cm)

Gift of Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence

2006.84

Provenance: Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence, Seattle, Washington; gift to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2006

Photo: Scott Leen

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Forget Me Not: Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence and Jacob Lawrence, May 5, 2007 - September 9, 2007.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Jacob Lawrence: American Storyteller, June 28, 2024 - January 5, 2025.

Published ReferencesNesbett, Peter T. "Jacob Lawrence: The Complete Prints (1963-2000): A Catalogue Raisonne." Seattle: Francine Seders Gallery Ltd. in association with University of Washington Press (Seattle and London), 2001, p. 35, no. L77-2

Nesbett, Peter T. and Hills, Patricia. "Jacob Lawrence: Thirty Years of Prints (1963-1993): A Catalogue Raisonne." Seattle: Francine Seders Gallery Ltd. in association with University of Washington Press (Seattle and London), 1994, p. 35, no. 77-2

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM