Lullaby

About the Work

A portrait of a mother in a chair with her child is a popular concept among contemporary figurative artists, particularly social narrative artists who emphasize the value of family and loving environments. The experience of displacement during the Great Depression taught Gwendolyn Knight-Lawrence, an immigrant from Barbados, the value of a supportive community and personal relationships. While some contemporary artists reject representation, Knight has consistently explored universal themes of motherhood in her work. The image appears to convey the importance of motherhood as well as a reflection on the nurturing role(s) she had played throughout her long life and career. Lullaby, 1992, was created while visiting Brandywine with her late husband Jacob Lawrence. This offset lithograph in an edition of 96 evokes images of childhood and motherhood in a watercolor-like style. Her fascination with the human form, how it shapes space and creates structural tension, has been maintained as her primary subject matter. 
_{—Adapted from Brandywine Workshop and Archives records and  "Fresh, Human and Personal: Signature of Brandywine Workshop," Three Decades of American Printmaking: The Brandywine Workshop Collection (Manchester, VT: Hudson Hills Press, 2004)}