The art of sacrifice

By Susan Pugh

Published: November 13, 2008

What would the man hanging from the end of the rope have made of the election of Barack Obama?

The man is John Brown. The abolitionist’s execution in 1859 after his failed attempt in his fight against slavery to take over the armory at Harpers Ferry is depicted in the last, the inevitable print in a series of 22 about his life.

The art came from the mind and hands of Jacob Lawrence. What would the Harlem Renaissance artist have made of Obama’s election, for that matter?

Lawrence died in 2000, but his work remains. It hangs in museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and until Dec. 12, the 22 prints that comprise the show, “Legacy for the Generations: Jacob Lawrence’s Legend of John Brown,” will hang in the Daura Gallery at Lynchburg College.

The idea for telling the story of Brown’s life came while Lawrence was living in New Orleans in 1941, two decades before Obama was born. Lawrence told Brown’s story in gouache paintings. More than 35 years later when the paintings were deteriorating, the artist decided to use the paintings as the basis for a series of hand-printed screenprints.

Those prints became part of the private collection of Derrick Johnson, who lives in the Richmond area. He loaned them to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which in turn sent the work for exhibition to Lynchburg College, one of VMFA’s partners.

“It’s a very important exhibit because of its topic and because Jacob Lawrence is a very important 20th century artist,” says Barbara Rothermel, the Daura Gallery’s
director.

The prints hang in the Daura’s first room where noise of the outer world fades, giving way to the hush of the gallery. The artwork stands out against the muted background of gray walls. Black leather benches for contemplation await.

Two large plaques hang at the beginning of the series. One tells about the series; the other sets the stage with an overview about John Brown, the first white abolitionist to advocate the use of force to end slavery.

In 1837 after the murder of abolitionist Elijah P. Lovejoy, Brown pledged his life to slavery’s destruction.

The devout Connecticut native spent the next 20 years raising money and support for creation of a militia, and liberated small groups of slaves.

It culminated in his raid on Harpers Ferry, an attempt to get weapons. Although the attempt failed and Brown was executed on Dec. 2, 1859, his death fueled abolitionist sentiment in the days leading up to the Civil War.

The first print shows Jesus hanging from the cross, blood streaming from one of the wounds to his feet, while a man leans against the cross, his head bent.

Brown, who worked as a tanner, surveyor, cattleman and sheep breeder, accepted poverty, the legend says. One print shows him alone at a table, with only a lamp and a hat on it. Again, his head bowed, this time as he faces a cross on the wall.

Another print shows him giving weapons to black men. The legend in the plaque next to the print says Brown formed an organization in the Adirondacks to resist the capture of any fugitive slaves.

Yet another shows three figures on horseback, rifles slung across their shoulders with bandoliers of ammunition. The legend says, “John Brown took to guerilla warfare.”

Toward the end of the series is a print that shows 21 bayonets pointing skyward behind a ridge, as though the 21 people carrying the bayoneted rifles were marching toward the viewer and were about to crest the ridge. The legend: “Sunday, Oct. 16, 1859. John Brown, with a company of 21 men, white and black, marched on Harpers Ferry.”

Then comes the print of Brown hanging, part of the past that led to this present.

If you’re going
WHAT: ‘Legacy for the Generations: Jacob Lawrence’s Legend of John Brown’
WHEN: Until Dec. 12
WHERE: Daura Gallery, Dillard Fine Arts Center, Lynchburg College
RELATED EVENTS: Nov. 16, Nina Salmon, assistant professor of English, will speak at 2 p.m. at the Daura Gallery about Jacob Lawrence, Anne Spencer and the Harlem Renaissance. Nov. 12, Kirt von Daacke, professor of history, will speak at noon at the Daura Gallery about the myth and reality of John Brown. Dec. 7, Kristin Harris, adjunct instructor of art, will conduct a hands-on workshop for children ages 6 to 10; limited enrollment and by reservation only by calling (434) 544-8595.
INFO: Call (434) 544-8343 or visit http://www.lynchburg.edu