Dreams No. 2 1965

Jacob Lawrence made this painting, Dreams No. 2, with tempera on paper. Just imagine him in his studio mixing up his colors and applying these flat shapes to the surface, building up layers of meaning through color and form. I wonder what was going through his head when he was making this? The woman in the chair seems lost in thought, doesn’t she? I’m really drawn to the way Lawrence uses color here – that bright yellow of her dress against the cool purple of the chair creates such a striking contrast. And then there are those wild figures outside the window, rendered with such expressive energy, and they feel somehow connected to her internal state. The paint isn’t overworked; it’s laid down with a directness that feels both confident and vulnerable. This piece reminds me of other paintings I have seen that explore themes of identity, memory, and the search for meaning in everyday life. Ultimately, it shows how painting is like an ongoing conversation with artists influencing and inspiring one another across time. It offers multiple ways of seeing and thinking about the world around us.