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)
Matted: 21 × 43 7/8 inches (53.3 × 111.4 cm)
Framed: 23 × 46 × 7/8 inches (58.4 × 116.8 × 2.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of Walter and Linda Evans
Object number2023.31
Copyright© 2026 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 TextInspired by teachers and leaders of the Harlem Renaissance, a Black cultural movement in Harlem, New York, Jacob Lawrence first catapulted to attention when he completed a 60-panel epic known as The Migration Series at the age of 23 that told the important story of the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North. Now known as one of the most acclaimed artists of the 20th century, Lawrence’s work utilizes a distinctive style of bright colors and flat, narrative compositions. New York Transit I is a print translation of Jacob Lawrence's ambitious 36-foot-long mosaic mural in the Times Square subway station, which was realized posthumously in 2001 as his last public work. 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.
