Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Talladega College is selling some of its historic artwork to help with its ongoing financial problems. The college is selling four murals painted by artist Halle Woodruff.
Talladega has been struggling financially for years, and this latest move to sell these murals will help fund the school in addition to having Woodruff’s artwork exposed to the public. Between 1939 and 1942, Woodruff was hired by the college to paint several murals. Each painting depicted a historic event in Black History. One of his well-known paintings includes “The Mutiny of the Amistad,” which displayed the Amistad saga. During Talladega’s 75th anniversary, he completed the painting’s second series. Among these paintings was a painting of the Underground Railroad, which was a key part of Black history. Some have spoken out against Talladega selling the paintings, stating that it “would be like giving up part of their soul.” As reported by Blavity, the sale is worth approximately $20 million.
“It’s not my place to tell an institution what to do, but that would be like giving up part of their soul,” Michael Lomax, the president and chief executive of the UNCF and a former professor at Morehouse and Spelman, told The New York Times.
“I would consider the Talladega murals to be a big part of their birthright. Those paintings will not have the same meaning if they’re put in a high-design building and a place that has nothing to do with the paintings.”
The college has been experiencing financial difficulties for years. To address these difficulties, the college must look into all its assets, said a Talladega board chair. Enrollment at the college dropped significantly from 2020 to now, to only 745. Although the college has a $15 million credit union loan, tuition fees are the main source of sustainability for the institution.
“We had to look at every asset that we have,” Talladega board chair Rica Lewis-Payton said.
“It required deliberate thought and execution,” she said about the decision to sell four of the six murals. “I sit here today feeling good that we are leveraging this most prized possession in a way that will improve the ability of the college to provide a foundational education for people like me.”
The murals will be going to separate homes. Three of the Amistad saga paintings are going to the Art Bridges Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art, two nonprofit organizations that lend art to public institutions. While the painting of the Underground Railroad is going to the Toledo Museum of Art.
“This is an incredible painting that will be deeply meaningful for our audience,” the president of the Toledo Museum of Art, Adam Levine, said. “My objective and the objective of the Toledo Museum of Art is to support Talladega College.”
The Toledo Museum and the foundations purchasing the paintings stated they will highlight the artwork's connection to Talladega, even though the arrangement hasn't been signed yet. Every six to eight years, the HBCU will also host an exhibition of the artworks.
This is not the first time Talladega has had to go to extreme lengths to help its financial issues. Earlier this year Talladega removed six athletic programs due to financial issues. The institution cut men’s volleyball, acrobatics and tumbling, men’s and women’s golf, and men’s and women’s indoor track.
