Happy Birthday, Beauford!

Portrait of Beauford Delaney

© 1953 Carl Van Vechten

Beauford was born 109 years ago today!

I am both pleased and a little saddened as I write this posting, because I am honoring Beauford’s beginning as well as announcing an ending of sorts. I am celebrating Beauford today by presenting several of my favorite images of him and his work. But I am also placing the blog on hiatus as of today, and will no longer be bringing you information about this wonderful artist on a regular basis.

You may remember that I broached the subject of retiring the blog last month, in the posting about Les Amis’s first anniversary. In that posting, I said:

I have done my best to find information on Beauford from as many reliable sources as possible, and to present that information with clarity, integrity, and love. But I am running out of sources, and will not diminish the quality of this Web publication just for the sake of continuing on. My goal is to publish through the end of this year, targeting Beauford’s birthday (December 30) as the date of the final posting.

Be assured that I will post noteworthy information as I discover it. And I am certainly willing to publish personal anecdotes about Beauford and other information from credible sources. However, I can no longer actively and efficiently pursue the discovery process.

I will post on milestone dates such as the anniversary of Beauford’s death. I will also begin publishing regularly again if Les Amis decides to pursue one of the projects that I mentioned in the November posting (example: creating a scholarship fund in Beauford’s name). There is some activity underway to create a short film about Beauford, and I hope to have good news about the progression of this project within the next few months. So do check back periodically! Follow the blog or pull its content through RSS so that you do not miss anything.

I encourage you all to purchase a copy of Beauford’s biography – Amazing Grace. It is the only book that chronicles Beauford’s life. It is a quick read that captures Beauford’s spirit admirably. Note that Les Amis earns a few cents on each book purchased through the links found in this and other postings, as well as through the link in the sidebar.

Before going on to the images, I would like to thank all the people who contributed to the blog once again – you know who you are – and to say that we will remain in touch through e-mail and Facebook.

Happy Birthday, Beauford! Long live your art and your memory!

A young Beauford Delaney

Photo: African-American Registry

 Still Life with Pears
(1946) Oil on canvas
Private collection

Composition 16

(1954-56) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney; Private Collection

Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York , NY

Beauford on the deck of the SS Liberté
Photo from David Leeming’s Amazing Grace

Detail of Self-Portrait

(1944) Oil on canvas
Art Institute of Chicago

Photo courtesy of Tim Paulson

Portrait of Beauford Delaney

(ca. 1950)
Possibly by Gjon Mili

Self-Portrait

(1962) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney; Private Collection

Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York , NY

Greenwich Village
(1945) Oil on canvas
Private collection

Beauford's Paint Box

© Discover Paris!

Untitled
(1964-65) Oil on canvas
Bill Hodges Gallery, New York

Nativity Scene

(1961) Oil on canvas
Private collection

Portrait of Beauford Delaney

Georgia O'Keeffe
(1943) Pastel on paper
Curtis Galleries, Minneapolis, MN