Hale Woodruff

Relics from Hale Woodruff: Selections from the Atlanta Period 1931–1946

1931–46, published 1996

One from a portfolio of eight linoleum cuts

Not on view

After living as an expatriate in Paris for many years, Woodruff accepted a position as chair of the newly established art department at Atlanta University in Georgia. There, he adopted a realistic style to highlight the harsh living conditions that his fellow African Americans endured in the post-slavery United States. With funds from the Works Progress Administration, he produced a series of woodcuts that exposed the South’s “peculiar rundown landscapes [and] its social and economic problems.” In the same scenes, he also demonstrated the resilience of the people who lived there, as they worked, rested, and gathered as a community.

Gallery label from

2022

Medium One from a portfolio of eight linoleum cuts
Dimensions composition: 8 1/16 x 11" (20.5 x 28 cm); sheet: 19 1/8 x 14 15/16" (48.5 x 38 cm)
Publisher The Evans-Tibbs Collection, Washington D.C.(Thurlow Evans Tibbs, Jr.), June Kelly Gallery, New York, Elnora Inc.(E. Thomas Williams), Marshall Arts, Ltd.
Printer Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop
Edition proof before the edition of 300
Credit Gift of E. Thomas Williams, Jr. and Auldlyn Higgins Williams
Object number 142.1997.4
Department Drawings and Prints

Explore more

All works by Hale Woodruff →

From MoMA Design Store

Installation views

We have identified this work in the following photos from our exhibition history.

How we identified these works
In 2018–19, MoMA collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a project using machine learning to identify artworks in installation photos. That project has concluded, and works are now being identified by MoMA staff.

If you notice an error, please contact us at [email protected].
Licensing
To reproduce installation views, please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations). You will need to include the object identification number found in the caption.
Feedback
This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please send feedback to [email protected].

Licensing

Artwork or archival images

If you would like to reproduce an image of a work of art in MoMA's collection, or an image of a MoMA publication or archival material (including installation views, checklists, and press releases), please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations).

Audio and film clips

MoMA licenses archival audio and select out of copyright film clips from our film collection. At this time, MoMA produced video cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. All requests to license archival audio or out of copyright film clips should be addressed to Scala Archives at [email protected]. Motion picture film stills cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. For access to motion picture film stills for research purposes, please contact the Film Study Center at [email protected]. For more information about film loans and our Circulating Film and Video Library, please visit Circulating Film and Video Library.

Text from a publication or the archives

If you would like to reproduce text from a MoMA publication, please email [email protected]. If you would like to publish text from MoMA's archival materials, please fill out this permission form and send to [email protected].

Feedback

This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please fill out this feedback form.