Painted in crystalline shards of color, a disembodied hand reaches towards a reclining female figure, suggesting a dramatic theatrical moment. In 1930, Jacob Lawrence’s family moved to Harlem, New York, as part of the Great Migration. He grew up surrounded by Black writers, artists, and poets, as well as inspiring sights and sounds. He recalled, “Our homes were very decorative, full of pattern, like inexpensive throw rugs, all around the house. It must have had some influence, all this color and everything...” For the next few years, after he received treatment for mental illness in 1949, Lawrence’s paintings combined illusion and reality in powerful scenes like this one.