Hale Woodruff’s Amistad Murals go on nationwide tour
Born in Cairo, Ill., Hale Woodruff studied at the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis and at Harvard University. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The Amistad Murals are now valued around $40 million. The paintings by artist Hale Aspacio Woodruff (Aug. 26, 1900 – Sept. 6, 1980) were commissioned in 1938 and the first three panels have hung at the school since the 1939 dedication of a library.
Portraying events related to the slave revolt on the ship Amistad, the murals are titled The Revolt, The Court Scene and Back to Africa.
The murals were being taken down piece by piece on Monday and will be restored before beginning a tour of several museums around the country.
College President Billy C. Hawkins said the restoration and tour of this “national treasure” will help bring the school more revenue and attention.
Woodruff taught art at Atlanta University in the 1930s. In 1946 Woodruff moved to New York, where he taught at New York University until his retirement in 1968.
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Information from: WBRC-TV, http://www.myfoxal.com/
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AP-CS-03-08-11 0833EST
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Born in Cairo, Ill., Hale Woodruff studied at the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis and at Harvard University. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
