The Migration Series, Panel no. 55: The migrants, having moved suddenly into a crowded and unhealthy environment, soon contracted tuberculosis. The death rate rose.

Having moved from the open air of Southern farmland to the cramped tenement living situation of the North, many migrants were exposed to pathogens that quickly turned fatal. Three figures cloaked in black solemnly bear the weight of the coffin. Simple shapes compose the space, the triangular forms of the funeral attendees coupled with the rectangle of the coffin. The icy landscape symbolizes not only the cold harshness of death, but also the cold temperatures and lack of access to quality healthcare that attributed to the tuberculosis outbreaks.
SKU: 64043
Creator: Jacob Lawrence
Date: between 1940 and 1941
Original Medium: Casein tempera on hardboard
Original Size: 12 x 18 in.
Location: The Phillips Collection
© 2016 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York