daytripper

Rising Up
Hale Woodruffs Murals at Talladega College
By Mary Eloise H. Leake

Hale Woodruff
Courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Collection

The Underground Railroad, 1940, oil on

canvas, 6 x 10

24 | February 2015 | lan magazine

n 1938, Buell Gallagher, the white president of

Talladega College, the oldest historically black
private college in Alabama, commissioned black
artist Hale Aspacio Woodruff to paint murals for its
new Savery Library. At this time in the South, when
money was tight and art galleries were closed to black
artists, Gallaghers move was astonishing.
Woodruff was the colleges adjunct art professor, and
he also ran the one-man art department at Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University). But the respected
artist could have had no clue that his six paintings would
be worth over $50 million today.
In addition to being great works of art, the
murals serve as a vehicle for telling stories that
illuminate our history as Americans, says Dr. Jacquelyn Serwer, co-curator with Dr. Rhea Combs of the
traveling exhibit, Rising Up: Hale Woodruffs Murals
at Talladega College. Originally scheduled for the

future National Museum of African American History

and Culture, the exhibit is now on display at the
National Museum of American History in Washington,
D.C.
Vividly portraying mans innate desire for freedom
and education, the two trios of the imposing mural
cycle crystallize 100 years of history by focusing on
these subjects: the dramatic Amistad revolt, the Underground Railroad, Talladega College and Talladegas
Savery Library.
Thanks to a collaboration between Atlantas High
Museum of Art and Talladega, the canvas-backed murals
were removed from the Savery Library in March 2011,
restored by the High at a cost of $116,000 and sent on a
multi-year national tour. This is the first timeand probably the lastthat the murals will travel nationally.
Serwer says viewers will be engaged by Woodruffs
action-packed visual chronicles revealing historical sub-

plots and showcasing characters with compelling back

stories.
Thanks to the artists 1936 summer internship with
Mexican muralist Diego Rivera and the popularity of
Steven Spielbergs 1997 movie, Amistad, the first trio
originally saluting the centennial of the Amistad revolt
is the big attraction.
At roughly 6 feet by 10 feet, the first Amistad mural
is packed with passion. Woodruff delineates the swirling
energy and agility of tribal leader Cinque and his kidnapped comrades fighting their captors. The Africans
triumph, but the slave ship enters American waters and
the men are imprisoned. A long court battle ensues.
Peopled with the determined Cinque, his compatriots, the slave traders and even Woodruff himself, the
panoramic second muralabout 6 feet by 20 feetis a
feast of expressive faces and body language, conveying

the intense scene at the U.S. District Court at New Haven, Connecticut. Although the Africans are judged to be
free men, the decision is appealed. The case finally goes
to the Supreme Court with former U.S. President John
Quincy Adams representing the men who are finally
freed. Many consider this the nations first civil rights
case.
Woodruffs final mural of the cycle, measuring
around 6 feet by 10 feet, shows the survivorsplus a few
white supporters who later form the American Missionary Association (AMA)heading to the Amistad to return
to Sierra Leone. Instrumental in the mens defense, the
AMA aided in establishing schools and colleges for freed
slaves, including Talladega College in 1867.
Born in Illinois in 1900, Woodruff grew up in Nashville. After studying art in Indianapolis and at the Art
Institute of Chicago, he spent four years in Paris where

[Thanks to] the popularity of Steven Spielbergs 1997 movie,

Amistad, the first
triooriginally saluting
the centennial of the
Amistad revoltis the
big attraction.
Top: The Trial of the Amistad Captives,
1939, 6 x 20; and The Repatriation of the
Freed Captives, 1939, 6 x 10
Both are oil on canvas.

lan magazine | February 2015 | 25

Born in Illinois in
1900, Woodruff grew
up in Nashville [and]
spent four years in
Paris where he was
introduced to Czanne
and Picassos works.
Top: Opening Day at Talladega College,
1940, oil on canvas, 6 x 20; and The
Building of Savery Library, 1940, oil on
canvas, 6 x 10
All images courtesy High Museum of Art/
Talladega College Consortium

26 | February 2015 | lan magazine

he was introduced to Czannes and Picassos works,

especially the latters Les Demoiselles dAvignon,
which clicked with Woodruffs appreciation of African
art and Cubism. But with these murals, the influence of
Riveras bold colors and the affirmation of Woodruffs
own social conscience are evident, according to a 1968
interview with the artist conducted for the Smithsonian
Institutions Archives of American Art by Alabamas
noted cultural pioneer Al Murray.
In addition to teaching and painting at Atlanta University, Woodruff launched its Annual Exhibition of Negro Art in 1942. By 1945, it was the countrys most significant venue for black artists. Forty-five years later, it was
discontinued as black artists entered the mainstream.
In 1943, Woodruff accepted a teaching position
at New York University. While moving into modernism and abstraction, he continued to encourage the art

worlds embrace of black art, helping found Spiral, a

group of black artists who addressed social injustice in
the early 60s.
A little-known artist, Woodruff left a surprisingly
large footprint on American art. Without his vision and
influence, black art might have taken much longer to become an accepted component of our countrys culture.
And without the initiative of Atlantas High Museum,
Woodruffs six magnificent murals might have slowly
deteriorated, never to be seen and appreciated nationally.
The mural exhibit, presented in three segments, may
be viewed in the National Museum of American Historys second floor east gallery: Rising Up highlights the
trio of Amistad Murals and Woodruffs early compositions; Fostering a Social Conscience spotlights the artists
works on housing and his small dramatic linocuts; and

The Mutiny On The Amistad, (detail),

1939, oil on canvas, 6 x 10

Exercising Freedom, which includes the two Talladega

College murals, focuses on the importance of education to the former slaves. A short video shows the mural
restoration process.
Rising Up: Hale Woodruffs Murals at Talladega

College is on view through March 1 at the National

Museum of American History.
National Museum of American History
http://americanhistory.si.edu/
lan magazine | February 2015 | 27