Housed in the atrium of Trevor Arnett Hall, the Art of the Negro mural series was painted by Hale Aspacio Woodruff (1900-1980) and consists of six, 12 x 12 foot oil on canvas panels. Woodruff, founder of the Atlanta University art department and permanent collection, painted the murals between 1950 and 1951. Woodruff aspired to providing the university community with a global narrative on the cultural history of Africans in the Americas. Referring to his rationale for painting the murals, Woodruff stated:  
  
"It portrays what I call the Art of the Negro. This has to do with a kind of interpretive treatment of African art. . . . I look at the African artist, certainly, as one of my ancestors regardless of how we feel about each other today. I’ve always had a high regard and respect for the African artist and his art. So this mural, . . .is for me, a kind of token of my esteem for African art. One of the motivations again for doing these would be these murals would deal with a subject about which little was known—art and also among Negroes, there was little concern about our ancestry. Then I took the idea that art, being a little known subject, would attract the curiosity and attention of young people, as well as older people, toward further study and in that way the murals would have educational value. I thought also that the unusual subject matter would be timeless in a sense that the arts are always timeless."  
  
Although Woodruff proposed to paint the murals after completing the Amistad mural series at Talledega College in 1939 and conferring with the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, Atlanta University did not grant him the opportunity until 1950. By this time he had relocated to New York City and joined the faculty at New York University. Hence, the murals were painted in his New York studio. Woodruff declared them to be the best of all his murals.

 

 

## The Art of the Negro Murals Panels

  ![Colorful mural depicting abstract figures and scenes with earthy tones and dynamic shapes.](/sites/default/files/styles/idfive_image_gallery/public/2025-12/Native-Form.jpg?h=01ffc9ae&itok=x4-4T9XT)  

 

Native Forms, Panel One  
   
 Native Forms illustrates the origin of the African diaspora and foretells the impact that African art and culture will have on Western civilization. Men engaged in traditional activities and the central deity figure, Shango of Yoruba, Nigeria, frame other sculptural forms and cave paintings in process.  
   
 Hale A. Woodruff (1900 – 1980)  
 Art of the Negro: Native Forms, 1952  
 Oil on canvas  
 144 x 144 inches   
 1952.012  
 91ÖÆƬ³§ Art Collection

 

  ![Mural of diverse figures with ancient scripts and symbols, vibrant colors and intricate designs.](/sites/default/files/styles/idfive_image_gallery/public/2025-12/Interchange.jpg?h=aa77032c&itok=OdOn7mkU)  

 

Interchange, Panel Two  
   
 Interchange refers to the ongoing cultural exchange among Africans and Europeans, and the subsequent influences that shaped Western civilization. The architectural forms from Rome, Egypt, North Africa, and Scandinavia refer to the cultures.  
   
 Hale A. Woodruff (1900 – 1980)  
 Art of the Negro: Interchange, 1952  
 Oil on canvas  
 144 x 144 inches   
 1952.013  
 91ÖÆƬ³§ Art Collection 

 

  ![Colorful mural depicting dynamic, abstract figures and flames above a wooden architectural element.](/sites/default/files/styles/idfive_image_gallery/public/2025-12/Dissipation.jpg?h=ccc6b941&itok=tyoJ2BU2)  

 

Dissipation, Panel Three   
   
 Hale A. Woodruff (1900 – 1980)  
 Art of the Negro: Dissipation, 1952  
 Oil on canvas  
 144 x 144 inches   
 1952.014  
 91ÖÆƬ³§ Art Collection 

 

  ![Colorful abstract mural with tribal and symbolic motifs.](/sites/default/files/styles/idfive_image_gallery/public/2025-12/Parallels.jpg?h=819e9c6f&itok=oKhOfJfb)  

 

Parallels, Panel Four  
   
 Hale A. Woodruff (1900 – 1980)  
 Art of the Negro: Parellels, 1952  
 Oil on canvas  
 144 x 144 inches   
 1952.015  
 91ÖÆƬ³§ Art Collection

 

  ![Abstract mural with geometric shapes and earthy tones.](/sites/default/files/styles/idfive_image_gallery/public/2025-12/Influences.jpg?h=55a8d70d&itok=W248c0wr)  

 

Influences, Panel Five  
   
 Hale A. Woodruff (1900 – 1980)  
 Art of the Negro: Influences, 1952  
 Oil on canvas  
 144 x 144 inches   
 1952.016  
 91ÖÆƬ³§ Art Collection 

 

  ![Mural depicting diverse men gathered with two floating figures above, in an archway.](/sites/default/files/styles/idfive_image_gallery/public/2025-12/Muses.jpg?h=28f536c2&itok=zdxizxDK)  

 

Muses, Panel Six  
   
 The Muses symbolize the involuntary marriage of African and European cultures and the evolution of the African artist in the Western hemisphere. Seventeen legendary black artists characterize Woodruff’s notions of a cultural amalgamation including Iqueigha, 13th Century sculptor, Joshua Johnston, a colonial portraitist and a host of 19th and 20th Century artists, such as Henry O. Tanner, Edward M. Bannister, Jacob Lawrence, Richmond Barthe, and Charles Alston.  
   
 Hale A. Woodruff (1900 – 1980)  
 Art of the Negro: Muses, 1952  
 Oil on canvas  
 144 x 144 inches   
 1952.017  
 91ÖÆƬ³§ Art Collection 

 

 



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