TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE
Series
1986-1997

1. The Birth of Toussaint L 'Ouverture, 1986
2. General Toussaint L 'Ouverture, 1986
3. The Capture, 1987
4. To Preserve Their Freedom, 1988
5. Toussaint at Ennery, 1989
6. The Coachman, 1990
7. Dondon, 1992
8. Contemplation, 1993
9. St. Marc, 1994
10. Strategy, 1994
11. The March, 1995
12. Flotilla, 1996
13. Deception, 1997
14. The Burning, 1997
15. The Opener, 1997

The size of the prints is 32 x 22 inches either horizontal or vertical.

These prints are based on forty-one paintings from a series also entitled Toussaint L'Ouverture, which was completed in 1938 and is now in the Aaron Douglas Collection of the Amistad Research Center, New Orleans. The paintings were executed in tempera and measure 11 x 19 inches, significantly smaller in scale than the prints. Lawrence reworked many of the images during the process of translating them to silk screen. When an image has been significantly altered from the original, that fact is noted in the catalogue entry. The captions Lawrence provided for the paintings at the time of their execution accompany each of the following entries.

Toussaint L 'Ouverture was a leader in the Haitian revolution. Born a slave, he rose to become commander in chief of the revolutionary army. In 1800 he coordinated the effort to draw up Haiti's first democratic constitution. However, in 1802, before the Republic was firmly established, Toussaint was arrested by Napoleon Bonaparte's troops and sent to Paris, where he was imprisoned. He died in prison the following year. In 1804 Haiti became the first black Western republic.

Jacob Lawrence with
Master Printer, Lou Stovall, signing
TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE Series