Barber Shop

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Barber Shop

Artist Jacob Lawrence (American, 1917-2000)

Date1946

DimensionsSheet: 21 1/8 × 29 3/8 in. (53.7 × 74.6 cm)
Frame: 28 × 36 1/2 × 2 1/8 in. (71.1 × 92.7 × 5.4 cm)

Mediumgouache

ClassificationDrawings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1975.15

Not on View

Label Text“When the subject is strong, simplicity is the only way to treat it.”—Jacob Lawrence The barbershop has always occupied an essential place for men in African-American society. Not simply a place to get a haircut, it is also a magnet for social interaction, a place to discuss issues of the day. While artist Jacob Lawrence maintained a connection to figurative subject matter throughout his career, he also absorbed Modernism’s tendency towards abstraction. Despite its abstract qualities, Barber Shop is rich in detail, down to the tools of the barber’s trade, the metal footrests on the barber chairs, the hats and coats hanging on the coat rack, and the cigarette (a small bright white rectangle) dangling from one of the customers’ fingers and anchoring the center of the composition. Through his placement of the six figures, Lawrence creates a visual rhythm in the composition that includes bridges, breaks, changes, and variations—all part of the translation of his love of jazz into a visual medium.Published ReferencesToledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art, American Paintings, Toledo, 1979, p. 78, pl. 225.

Woodward, Bill, "Strides Toward Freedom," Kansas Alumni Magazine, vol. 90, no. 4, July/Aug. 1992, repr. p. 22 (col.).

Sayre, Henry M., A World of Art, Englewood Cliffs, 1994, p. 168, fig. 226, (col.).

Hahn, Beth, "Highlights from the Collection: Jacob Lawrence," Montage, vol. 2, no. 1, p. 22, repr.

Nesbett, Peter T., Jacob Lawrence: Paintings, Drawings and Murals (1935-1999): A Catalogue Raisonné, Seattle, 2000, no. P46-06, p. 91, repr. (col.).

Greenberg, Jan, ed., Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth Century Art, New York, 2001, repr. p. 34 (col.).

Duncan, Sally Anne, Otto Wittmann: Museum Man for All Seasons, Toledo, 2001, p. 20.

Sayre, Henry M., A World of Art, 4th ed., Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall, 2003, pp. 182-3, fig. 258 (col.).

"Jacob Lawrence," ARTaFACTS Magazine, vol. 6, no. 4, Feb//Mar. 2003, (col.) p. [4].

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2005, p. 53, repr. (col.)

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 327, repr. (col.).

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2009, p. 53, repr. (col.)

Exhibition HistoryNew York, American Federation of Arts, Masters of American Watercolor, 1962, no. 22.

New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Jacob Lawrence, 1974, no. 95.

New York, Kennedy Galleries, 100 Artists Associated with the Art Students League of New York, 1975, repr. p. 151.

Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Jubilee: Afro-American Artists on Afro-America, 1975, p. 42.

Seattle, Seattle Art Museum; Oakland, Oakland Museum; Atlanta, High Museum; Washington, D. C., Phillips Collection; et al. Jacob Lawrence, American Painter, 1986-87, no. 69, pp. 71-72, pl. 37 (col.).

Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Looks Good on Paper: Masterworks and Favorites, Oct. 10, 2014-Jan. 11, 2015.