Haiti’s Revolution in Art: Jacob Lawrence’s Toussaint L’Ouverture Series

As a young student of American history, Jacob Lawrence was frustrated with the lack of narratives addressing the African American experience, as well as the absence of black heroes from history books. He later discovered that there were indeed black heroes to admire and emulate, including Harriet Tubman. He was most fascinated, however, with the leader of the 18th-century Haitian Revolution, Toussaint L’Ouverture (1743–1803). In 1938 he painted his first image of the narrative, but soon realized that this great and complex story needed to be a series. Eventually, Lawrence would create 41 panels about Toussaint L’Ouverture and the struggle for Haitian self-governance. A gifted printmaker, he decided to create a portfolio of 15 screenprints based on the panels. 

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.