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New Orleans Museum of Art

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Rising Up: Hale Woodruff’s Murals at Talladega College

May 16th, 2015 - September 14th, 2014

  • Introduction

    This project, a collaboration between the High Museum of Art and Talladega College, conserves Hale Woodruff’s murals commissioned by Talladega College in 1938 and presents them to a national audience for the first time

    • About
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In 1938 Atlanta-based artist Hale Woodruff was commissioned to paint a series of murals for Talladega College, Alabama, one of the first colleges established for blacks in the United States. Installed in the institution’s newly constructed Savery Library, the six murals portray noteworthy events in the rise of blacks from slavery to freedom. Though he painted the murals for a local audience of students and faculty, Woodruff intended their impact to reach beyond Talladega’s campus. They attracted national attention.

In 2011 a team of conservators and art handlers removed Woodruff’s six murals from the walls of the library. The crew assembled scaffolding to reach the murals, which were installed at nine feet high on facing sides of the library’s entrance hall. Originally painted on canvas by Woodruff in his Spelman College studio in Atlanta, the murals were gently pried from the walls to which they had been directly affixed. Areas of flaking were stabilized before transit with tissue applied using easily soluble materials.

The conservation process addressed the effects of aging on the works. The Talladega murals have been left undisturbed in the lobby of Savery Library for more than seventy years—and with good fortune. Without direct exposure to the harmful effects of sunlight, the vibrant colors of Woodruff’s original palette have remained intact. Nevertheless, a good cleaning and the addition of a support or backing have ensured that the murals will be enjoyed by future generations of Talladegans.

Today the murals remain symbols of the centuries-long struggle for civil rights. This project, a collaboration between the High Museum of Art and Talladega College, conserves these works and presents them to a national audience for the first time.

The Mutiny on the Amistad

1939

Hale Woodruff

Collection of Savery Library, Talladega College, Talladega, Alabama

The Repatriation of the Freed Captives

1939

Hale Woodruff

Collection of Savery Library, Talladega College, Talladega, Alabama

The Underground Railroad

1942

Hale Woodruff

Collection of Savery Library, Talladega College, Talladega, Alabama

The Building of Savery Library

1942

Hale Woodruff

Collection of Savery Library, Talladega College, Talladega, Alabama

Hale Woodruff’s Murals At Talladega College On Display At The New Orleans Museum Of Art

By Dr. Sara Hollis | The New Orleans Tribune This article originally appeared here The huge colorful heroic murals that artist and professor Hale Woodruff painted at Talladega College between… Read More

New Orleans Museum Of Art Showcases African-American Muralist Hale Woodruff With ‘Rising Up’

By Chris Waddington, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune This article originally appeared here Black history gets larger than life treatment at the New Orleans Museum of Art with the May 16… Read More

New Orleans Rewards Essence Festival Visitors Who Seek Roots Of African-American Culture

By Chris Waddington, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune This article originally appeared here Essence Festival 2014 fits New Orleans. Both the city and the celebration wrap the riches of African-American culture… Read More

Social Realist Murals Bring History To Life At NOMA

By John d’Addario | The New Orleans Advocate This article originally appeared here One of the greatest American mural cycles of the 20th century is coming to the New Orleans… Read More

Sponsors / Partners

Rising Up: Hale Woodruff’s Murals at Talladega College is organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, in collaboration with Talladega College, Talladega, Alabama.

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The New Orleans Museum of Art inspires lifelong learning with a wide-ranging art collection, world-class exhibitions, and innovative programming. NOMA serves as a forum for engaging with new ideas and sharing a diversity of perspectives, cultural experiences, and ways of thinking.

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New Orleans Museum of Art
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