"This print combines two themes that Jacob Lawrence explored at various times in his artistic career: people playing games of thought, such as chess, and the workplaces of builders or craftspeople. Personal acquaintances and observations of everyday life were his inspiration. The subjects also served as metaphor for aspirations held by American workers, particularly African Americans, for advancement in American society and the strategic savvy needed to navigate the struggles they faced.
The Mott-Warsh Collection has numerous prints by Jacob Lawrence, so I am intimately familiar with his work. What I most admire is his skillful manipulation and control of line, color and space. He uses these elements along with figurative gesture to guide the viewer's eye through his compositions, creating tension and meaning in the image that are open for interpretation. Here, our focus is on the chess players silhouetted mostly in black. He also uses black for the two vertical bands behind them, yet we instinctively distinguish foreground and background. The large, stylized hands of the men are rendered as if they are anthropomorphic extensions of the tools that surround them. The intriguing trio of skin colors may point to racial harmony, but they also provide visual harmony. Lawrence accomplishes all of this with a minimal palette modulated by the additions of black, white and gray.
Lawrence’s masterful expression of the human condition through an authentic modernist style is what makes him one of the more fascinating artists of the 20th century."