Aaron douglas and Hale Woodruff: African American Art Education, Gallery Work, and Expanded Pedagogy

Abstract

This analysis of archival materials discovered at Fisk and Atlanta Universities examines the teaching careers of Aaron Douglas and Hale Woodruff, two African American artists who came to prominence during the New Negro Movement in the 1920s and taught at historically Black1 universities in the 1930s and 1940s. These artists had a profound influence on this era of art education in the segregated South. This research specifically focuses on how Douglas and Woodruff asserted themselves and expanded learning opportunities through networks and exhibition programming that challenged racial subjugation. My findings indicate that the limitations of traditional classroom instruction² disallowed their teaching content which focused upon and empowered African Americans to sustain themselves as mainstream artists in the United States. However, their influence and responsibility to a future generation of African American artists serve as pedagogical content that may instill racial pride otherwise absent in the curriculum.