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Hale Woodruff was born in Cairo, Illinois in 1900 and died in New York, New York in 1980. He
studied at many institutions, including Harvard University, the School of the Art Institute of
Chicago, and the Académie Moderne, and spent the summer of 1938 studying under Diego
Rivera in Mexico. Although he is most known for his colorful murals, The Drexel Collection has
a folio of eight of Woodruff’s linocut prints. This work centers around the life and struggles of
black people living in the United States, specifically in the South. The acquisition of this folio
increases the Collection’s holdings of underrepresented artists and diverse imagery.
From Elnora, Inc. and E.T. Williams, the owner of the Hale Woodruff Estate: Hale Woodruff’s
Old Church is a tentative structure, barely able to stand. Yet, as the spiritual center of this
southern town, it serves as a refuge and meeting place. Despite its decrepitude, it is the
cornerstone of the African American community. In Woodruff’s words, “any black artist who
claims that he is creating black art must begin with some black image. The black image can be
the environment, it can be the problems that one faces, it can be the look on a man’s face. It can
be anything. It’s got to have this kind of pinpointed point of departure. But if it's worth its while,
it’s also got to be universal in its broader impact and its presence.”