Hale Aspacio Woodruff, American, 1900 to 1980, oil painting on canvas depicting a portrait of a woman with bananas. Signed lower left. Framed. Hale Aspacio Woodruff was an American artist known for his murals, paintings, and prints Woodruff met leading figures of the French avant-garde and began collecting African art, which was a source of inspiration for many other modernists, including Pablo Picasso. In 1936 Woodruff went to Mexico to study as an apprentice under the famed muralist Diego Rivera, learning his fresco technique and becoming interested in portrayal of figures. He returned to Atlanta and continued teaching. He began traveling to Talladega College in Alabama to teach and work on a commission for a series of murals. After his return to the United States in 1936, Woodruff applied his understanding of Post Impressionism and Cubism to painting and printmaking for social advocacy. Woodruff was inspired by the racism and poverty African Americans in the South faced during the Great Depression. One of a kind artwork.