"TESTAMENT TO A GREAT HISTORICAL EPOCH AND TO THE VISION OF A MODERN MASTER" (HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.)

LAWRENCE, Jacob. The Migration Series. Washington: Rappahannock Press, 1993. Quarto, original pictorial wrappers. $950.

First edition of this exhibition catalog containing full-color reproductions of all 60 panels from Lawrence's seminal Migration Series, boldly signed on the title page by Jacob Lawrence.

The Migration Series is composed of 60 panels completed by Lawrence in 1941 when he was only 23. The paintings tell the story of the black exodus from the South to the North after World War I, and the series is considered one of this great American artist's best and most important works. The first major traveling exhibition of the series in 1993 was the inspiration for this fine book. Edited by Elizabeth Hutton Turner, with several essays on Lawrence and the migration series, including an introductory essay by Henry Louis Gates. With 116 illustrations, including all 60 panels in full color. First edition, first printing: issued simultaneously in wrappers (this copy) and cloth.

A fine signed copy.