Hale Woodruff’s Talladega College Murals At Birmingham Museum of Art

| June 11, 2015 

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2015/06/kelli_graham_woodruff.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:1920;s:6:"height";i:1440;s:4:"file";s:33:"2015/06/kelli_graham_woodruff.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:13:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:33:"kelli_graham_woodruff-336x252.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:252;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:33:"kelli_graham_woodruff-771x578.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:578;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:33:"kelli_graham_woodruff-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:33:"kelli_graham_woodruff-768x576.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:576;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"1536x1536";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:35:"kelli_graham_woodruff-1536x1152.jpg";s:5:"width";i:1536;s:6:"height";i:1152;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"kelli_graham_woodruff-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:33:"kelli_graham_woodruff-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:33:"kelli_graham_woodruff-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:33:"kelli_graham_woodruff-415x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:415;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:33:"kelli_graham_woodruff-353x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:353;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:33:"kelli_graham_woodruff-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:33:"kelli_graham_woodruff-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:33:"kelli_graham_woodruff-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Rachel Osier Lindley
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => WBHM
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:2010564;s:14:"optimized_size";i:411680;s:7:"percent";d:79.519999999999996;}s:5:"sizes";a:10:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:61:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/06/kelli_graham_woodruff.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:1886931;s:14:"optimized_size";i:320874;s:7:"percent";d:82.989999999999995;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:6:"medium";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:5:"large";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:69:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/06/kelli_graham_woodruff-771x578.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:119574;s:14:"optimized_size";i:86756;s:7:"percent";d:27.449999999999999;}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:67:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/06/kelli_graham_woodruff-80x80.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:4059;s:14:"optimized_size";i:4050;s:7:"percent";d:0.22;}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

)
1664975664 
1434063687

Hale Woodruff is regarded as one of the most important African American artists of the 20th century.  His best-known works are six very large murals painted for the Talladega College library in the 1930s. The murals show the path of progress from black slavery to freedom. After hanging in the Talladega College library for decades, the murals were recently restored, and have been on a national tour since 2012. Woodruff’s famous murals are now making a homecoming of sorts. An exhibition of the murals, along with early works from Woodruff’s career, opens this Saturday at the Birmingham Museum of Art. WBHM took a tour of the show this week with curators Kelli Morgan and Graham Boettcher.

Curator Graham Boettcher stands with Hale Woodruff's "The Trial of the Amistad Captives," from the collection of Savery Library at Talladega College.

Rachel Osier Lindley,WBHM
Curator Graham Boettcher stands with Hale Woodruff’s “The Trial of the Amistad Captives,” from the collection of Savery Library at Talladega College. Rachel Osier Lindley / WBHM

 

Why Gen Z protesters worldwide are flying an anime pirate flag

Gen Z protesters from Indonesia and Nepal to Madagascar and Morocco, are rallying behind an unexpected banner: a grinning skull in a straw hat.

What to expect as Syria holds first parliamentary elections since Assad’s ouster

Syria is holding parliamentary elections on Sunday for the first time since the fall of the country's longtime autocratic leader, Bashar Assad, who was unseated in a rebel offensive in December.

Some Democrats share Trump’s goal of forcing more homeless people into medical care

President Trump says one part of the answer to homelessness is civil commitment and forced medical care. Some Democrats agree.

Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s National Guard deployment to Portland

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard to Portland, Ore., which the president had ordered over the objections of local leaders.

Largest US Lutheran denomination installs first Black presiding bishop

Rev. Yehiel Curry succeeds Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, who served for 12 years and was the first woman to lead the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

National parks caught in the crosshairs of government shutdown

National parks across the country face conflicting demands and uncertainty as a result of the ongoing federal funding dispute.

More Arts and Culture Coverage