Hale Aspacio Woodruff (Harlem Renaissance)

Hale Woodruff was the only child of Augusta and George Woodruff. George, however, died shortly after Hale’s birth. Hale and his mother moved to Nashville, Tennessee in the early 1900’s. While his mother was at work, she needed to occupy his time and had him copy pictures out of the family Bible. His interest in art began to intensify, spending his days copying pictures of anything he could possibly find. His interest in art led him to become the cartoonist for his high school newspaper. (Carlin)

After graduating high school, he landed a hotel job in Indianapolis, and began his first official art schooling. He learned at the Herron Art Institute, which had a

Along with the Harlem Renaissance emerged new artists, along with their new styles. Hale Aspacio Woodruff developed a style all of his own. Most of his works were done in watercolor, using a brilliant background and an obvious focus on characters. Other works were done with a pressed and inked fashion. Woodruff would decide a favorable material to use, carve out the design of his painting and then ink it. To rid the painting of excess ink, he would press the picture, and then allow it to dry (Artists’).

Painters became affiliated with organizations, and founded art schools. The African American artist, however, was often a victim of these times. They were excluded from the learning facilities and still prejudiced against. Attitudes toward slavery and mistreatment of blacks were the basis of influence for African art. They began to ally themselves with and became the leaders of the antislavery cause (Black).

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, black artists in America were often craftsmen by trade. They would be free or slave and only paint in their spare time. Often the northern African Americans were sent to the South to teach blacks and whites their craft. On southern plantations, blacks developed tools and other utensils to do the work of slaves. Carving, pottery, and ironwork were often a result of their newly invented tools. The primary artists were slaves and craftsmen that conformed to the fashion of the times (Black).

Above all, the Harlem Renaissance was a movement for black pride. Harlem became the cultural capital for blacks, being the home for many of the emerging artists. This rebirth allowed many blacks, skilled in a variety of areas of the fine arts to show their skill, and look past the color of their skin. Hale Aspacio Woodruff arose from the depths of society to prove that he had what it takes to become great. He developed his own style of art, and influenced many others to do the same thing.

total of forty students. In exchange for his work as a desk clerk at the local “colored” YMCA, they gave him a room. While staying at the YMCA, he met several prominent African-American leaders, like Walter White of the NAACP, who influenced him to reach for his goals. He became good friends with Herman Lieber, who owned a local art supply store. In

Some topics in this essay:
African American, Cotton Appendix, Aspacio Woodruff, Harlem Renaissance, Atlanta Woodruff, African Americans, Nashville Tennessee, Artists’ Simplicity, Carlin Woodruff, Art Institute, african american, harlem renaissance, fine arts, hale aspacio, aspacio woodruff, hale aspacio woodruff, african american artists, black artists, african art, american artists, black pride, style art,