9:20 a.m., Dec. 11, 2008----Jacob Lawrence in Print 1963-2000 will be on view at the University of Delaware's Mechanical Hall Gallery from Feb. 3 through May 10, 2009.

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The exhibition, courtesy of DC Moore Gallery in New York, offers a comprehensive survey of Jacob Lawrence's graphic work, including the narrative series, The Legend of John Brown and 15 prints based on The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture series.

Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), a prolific artist best known for his discerning portrayals of black urban life, was the first African American artist to achieve sustained attention from mainstream commercial galleries and museums.

Lawrence was born in Atlantic City, N.J., and moved to New York City as a teenager. He studied art in Harlem under Charles Alston at the Utopia Children's Center and at the WPA Harlem Art Workshop, located in the basement of Harlem's 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library -- now the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture -- and later at Alston's Studio 306.

The Schomburg library, a favorite subject of the artist, is also where Lawrence did historical research for several of his narrative series, including The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture, which chronicles the Haitian revolutionary and his role in the establishment of a black republic.

Additionally inspired by William DuBois's play Haiti, performed in Harlem in 1938, Lawrence completed 41 narrative panels for the Toussaint L'Ouverture series in 1938. Between 1986 and 1997, working with master printer Lou Stovall and Workshop Inc., Lawrence developed the Toussaint L'Ouverture prints on view at Mechanical Hall Gallery.

Abolition, resistance and liberation are resonant themes in The Legend of John Brown, as well. Lawrence's focus is on the fervent and tenacious actions of Brown, who believed he was chosen by God to overthrow slavery in America. The legend is told though 22 silk-screen prints based on Lawrence's original gouache paintings in the permanent collection of the Detroit Institute of the Arts.

Lawrence developed the limited edition portfolio in 1977 with the Ives-Sillman graphic workshop in New Haven, Conn., to extend the exhibition potential of the original 1941 gouache paintings which had become to fragile to travel.

Jacob Lawrence in Print 1963-2000 provides a survey of Lawrence's graphic oeuvre and bears witness to the artist's exploration and experimentation with the medium and its aesthetic potential.

Programming for the exhibition, sponsored by the University Museums and the Paul R. Jones Initiative, will include talks by J. Ritchie Garrison of the University of Delaware, Jacqueline Francis, John David Davies and master printmaker and artist Lou Stovall.

Events being held in conjunction with the exhibition are as follows:

Feb. 12, exhibition opening reception, 5-6:30 p.m., Mechanical Hall Gallery.

Feb. 12, “Printmaking in the Service of Ideas.” Lou Stovall, artist and master printer and founder of Workshop Inc. print studio in Washington, D.C., will discuss his work with Jacob Lawrence and his own art, 6:30 p.m., Trabant University Center Theatre.

Feb. 23, “John Brown, Abolition, and George's Trunk: Material Rhetoric/Material Conflicts.” J. Ritchie Garrison, University of Delaware professor and director of Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, 7 p.m., Recitation Hall.

March 10, “Picturing Power.” Jacqueline Francis, art historian and independent scholar, will compare Jacob Lawrence's visual motifs of power with that of contemporary artists, among them Laylah Ali, Marcel Djama, Kojo Griffin and Art Spiegelman, 7 p.m., Trabant University Center Theatre.

March 25, John David Davies, UD lecturer in history, gallery talk, “Toussaint L'Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution: Lost Opportunities,” 4 p.m., Mechanical Hall Gallery.

Gallery hours are Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesdays to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 1-4 p.m.

For information, see the University Museums web site or call (302) 831-8037.