New York in Transit I
Date1998
MediumColor screenprint on paper
DimensionsImage: 12 3/16 × 36 3/8 inches (31 × 92.4 cm)
Sheet: 20 × 40 inches (50.8 × 101.6 cm)
Credit LineGift of Walter and Linda Evans
Object number2023.31
Copyright© 2023 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextNew York Transit I is a print translation of Jacob Lawrence's ambitious 36-foot-long mosaic mural in the Times Square subway station. The horizontal format of the work echoes the form of the subway cars, and the vertical subway poles act as cinematic breaks within the composition. His narrative scene considers city life as viewed from an elevated train with glances into neighborhoods and cultural and physical activity. The print and mural were completed toward the end of Lawrence's groundbreaking career. At an early age, he was inspired and influenced by luminary artists and teachers of the Harlem Renaissance and created his acclaimed Migration Series, a 60-panel epic looking at the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North, when he was only 23 years old. He developed a distinctive style that utilized bright colors and flat, narrative compositions.
