War Series: The Letter 1946

Jacob Lawrence made "War Series: The Letter" using tempera on board. You know, I feel for this figure, almost collapsed on that ominous black desk. They’re waiting for news, and the suspense is so thick, you could paint it! The warm brown brushstrokes in the background give a sense of interiority, like being trapped inside someone’s worried mind. Lawrence has this knack for using flat shapes and colors to convey deep emotion. That stark white letter sitting there, it’s like a spotlight on anxiety, and the slumped figure, absent a face, could be anyone, anywhere, waiting for words that might change everything. It's like he’s saying, ‘Hey, we’re all connected in this shared human experience of waiting and uncertainty.’ We can see it echoed throughout the history of painting, this effort to capture something universal in the particular.