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Jacob Lawrence (African American, 1917–2000). The Long Stretch. 1949. Egg tempera on hardboard. © 2009 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo Credit: The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation / Art Resource, NY.

In the glare of sun or the unreal light of the stadium at night, a baseball player legs out a ground ball, stretching to beat the throw to first base. Runner, infielder, and umpire are straining almost beyond the limits of their physical being. Lawrence painted this work in the same year that Jackie Robinson—who ended nearly 60 years of segregation in professional baseball—won a Most Valuable Player award. In the striving of muscle and tendon, Lawrence is celebrating Robinson's success but also may be noting the Civil Rights struggle still to come.

Reproduction, including downloading of Lawrence works is prohibited by copyright laws and international conventions without the express written permission of Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.