Battle of Lake Erie

Plans in 1942 for a new building for the municipal Register of Deeds in Washington, D.C., included a program of murals honoring the heroism of African Americans throughout U.S. history. Hale Woodruff, an art teacher at historically black Atlanta University, submitted proposals for this prestigious commission, including this panel. Woodruff had studied mural painting under Mexican modernist Diego Rivera. Although he was not successful in this competition, his works decorate many other public buildings and demonstrate the U.S. government’s active sponsorship of African American artists.