(This article originally appeared in Real Change and has been republished with permission.)
by Lisa Edge
Lawrence Pitre is booked and busy. On any given day, you can find him painting in his studio while the sound of jazz surrounds him, fielding offers from galleries and collectors interested in his work, or renovating the Central Area Chamber of Commerce building. Many days heโs doing all three and then some.
When this reporter talked to Pitre a little more than a year ago, heโd just graduated from Seattle University with a Master of Fine Arts and the first showing of โWe Are One,โ a vibrant series of paintings documenting the Central Area from 1851 to today, was in its last days of hanging on the walls of A/NT gallery. After serving in the military and a career in government, Pitre was back to creating art and loving it. His work has been embraced on a larger scale than he expected.
โI think every artist, or any artist โ whether youโre dance, music or whatever โ you just hope that your artwork or whatever it is youโre doing as an artist takes off,โ said Pitre. โI donโt really know how to explain it.โ

He still marvels at the level of interest shown in his work, specifically for โWe Are One.โ Since the initial showing, the series has been on display in the mayorโs gallery at City Hall. Now, it can be viewed at 4Culture through the end of the month, then itโs off to Shunpike in Bellevue. Pitre said audiences have felt a connection to the series and say itโs a long-overdue documentation of the Central Area. Heโs received offers to buy individual paintings, but Pitre isnโt quite ready to break up the series. To him, itโs more powerful when viewed as a whole, much like โThe Migration Seriesโ by Jacob Lawrence, an artist who encouraged Pitre to follow his voice and honor his talent.
The Central Area is known as the Black neighborhood of Seattle. Redlining and restrictive covenants shaped the demographic, but it was never 100 percent Black. People of other ethnicities also lived there, and Pitreโs series reflects that. In addition to covering gentrification, Japanese internment and the legacy of long-time activist Bob Santos, Pitre has now added new pieces, โEarlโs Barber Shopโ and โDeCharlene Williams,โ that capture more history. Williams opened her first beauty shop nearly 50 years ago and in the following years she became well known as a business leader, activist and pillar of the community. She passed away in May.
The third new piece Pitre is adding to the series is about William Grose. According to Blackpast.org, Grose was the second Black settler in Seattle; when he arrived in 1860, Seattle was a small village of about 300 people. Grose ran a successful restaurant and hotel in Madison Valley. When he died, he was one of the wealthiest men in the city.
Because of his work on โWe Are One,โ Pitre is partially a historian in addition to being an artist. After the first showing, he met a Jewish man who lives in the Northgate area. Pitre later went over to his home and he shared photos of his grandmothers dating back to 1889 and 1909. At the time, they lived in the Central Area. The manโs collection was a treasure trove of information and Pitre wanted to see it all.
โTo me it didnโt matter who they are,โ said Pitre. โIโd like to be able to find as much historical information on people โ and I think thatโs who I am. I love history.โ

Talking to relatives of people who lived in the Central Area is part of his research process for the series. Heโs eager to get back to doing more of those interviews before information is lost for good. Pitre wants to eventually expand the series to between 75 and 100 paintings. Itโs a feat some consider ambitious, but Pitre is confident heโll be able to complete them. Heโs also begun work on an accompanying book for the series.
Itโs all part of preserving the legacy of an area of which he has many fond memories. On opening night of his show at 4Culture, Pitre led a group of about 60 people through the gallery telling the story behind each person and landmark featured. That same night, one visitor left the following note in the guestbook: โGorgeous, so beautiful. Also an incredible timeline of Seattle.โ A few days later another wrote that it was โNice to see so many layers of meaning and of technique. And such a generous and inclusive spirit.โ Viewing the series goes beyond skillful renderings of the past, itโs an opportunity to educate visitors where books fall short.
Pitre has two favorites from the series: โ20th and Yesler,โ because he spent so much time there playing basketball and hanging out; and โEdgar & Ella Pitre,โ which features his parents. Much of who Pitre is comes back to them. The story of how they came into his life doesnโt begin at birth. Instead, it starts when he was about 5 years old. Pitre was in foster care and was staying in a home where he was not being treated well. A woman who lived across the street alerted authorities. A short time later, Pitreโs caseworker took him to meet with three families in the hope of finding a permanent home. The final family he met with were the Pitres. He made the decision quickly.
โIโm there for about five minutes,โ he said. โCrawl up on Dadโs lap, said, โWill you be my Dad?โ Everybody just cracks up. The case manager says Larry are you sure? Yep. This is it. This is where Iโm supposed to be.โ
Pitre found a new home and later found out the woman who helped him get away from his last foster home was his paternal grandmother. He vividly recounts meeting her again.
โI literally clung to her neck,โ said Pitre. โFor about three hours I sat with her. Iโm not going anywhere.โ
Today Pitre is finishing up two paintings that will go into the new Liberty Bank Building. Heโs also begun work on a new series that will highlight influential women of the Northwest. It begins with his wife and heโs experimenting with painting on a nontraditional surface.
Pitreโs dedication to documenting important, if not lesser known, people and places of Seattle is an asset to all of us. His genuine love for the area shines through with each brushstroke.
Featured Image: A section of Lawrence Pitre’s “DeCharlene Williams.”
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