| |
 All About Art
Hale Woodruff : Creator of Accessible Art
published: August 2007
By Tamar Burris, Contributing Writer
Email Author
Hale Woodruff was a leading artist in the Harlem Renaissance art movement. His dream was to make art more accessible to the African-American community.
Hale Aspacio Woodruff was born on August 26, 1900, in Cairo Junction, Illinois. His father died when Hale was small, and he and his mother moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Hales mother was a good artist and wanted her son to learn to draw. So, when he went with his mother to work, she had him copy pictures out of the Bible. Hale loved drawing! He began drawing things he saw in the newspaper and in his schoolbooks. By the time he reached high school, Hale was drawing cartoons for the school newspaper.
After high school, Hale and his best friend traveled to Indianapolis for the summer. Hale decided to stay in Indianapolis to attend the John Herron Art Institute. Hale met Walter White, who served as chief secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was also given a book on African sculpture, which inspired him to incorporate more traditional African art into his artwork.
After living in Indianapolis for several years, Hale went to France for a time. There he studied with Henry Ossawa Tanner, who was one of the most important black artists during his time. Upon returning to the United States in the 1930s, Hale became an art professor at Atlanta University. He brought important African-American art exhibits to the university and earned a good reputation. People came to the school just to study with him! Hale also spent a summer in Mexico studying with Diego Rivera, a well-known Mexican artist who specialized in colorful murals. He started painting murals that were greatly influenced by Diegos style.
In 1943, Hale moved to New York City. He taught at the New York University until his retirement in 1968. As a professor and artist, Hale was deeply involved with the African-American community. He used his classes to celebrate African influences on art, and in his own work, he painted scenes that reminded people of the issues African Americans faced.
Hale died on September 6, 1980, in New York.
Written by Tamar Burris, a former elementary school teacher who now works as a freelance writer and curriculum developer for PBS, the Discovery Channel and other education-related companies. Sources: Colorado Collections Essays: Hale Woodruff, www.colorado.edu; Hale Woodruff Oral History, www.aaa.si.edu; The Grove Dictionary of Art, www.groveart.com; The New Georgia Encyclopedia: Hale Woodruff (1900-1980), ?www.georgiaencyclopedia.org.
|
 |
