1900-1980
Works in the Collection
Biography
Hale Woodruff was born in Cairo, Illinois in 1900 and grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. He attended the Herron Art School in Indianapolis, acquiring during his time there a passion for African art. He then studied part-time at the Art Institute of Chicago, and soon began submitting to the famed exhibitions of the Harmon Foundation. In 1926, he received an award from the Harmon Foundation that gave him the opportunity to study in Paris for four years. While there Woodruff and even had the chance to meet Henry Ossawa Tanner. another in Mexico brought him under the tutelage of Diego Rivera. Woodruff is known for his role as a teacher at Atlantic University from 1931 to 1968 and as an impresario of important exhibitions at Atlanta University. Woodruff’s paintings can be seen at Atlanta University, Talladega College, Detroit Institute of Arts, Newark Museum, Howard University, Library of Congress, New York University, and the New York Public Library in New York City. Woodruff died in New York City in 1980.