August 1964 - Beauford's Family Visits Paris

Beauford's brother Emery, sister-in-law Gertrude, and niece Imogene visited Beauford in Paris in August 1964.

From Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney:

On the first Sunday Emery and Beauford went alone to mass at Notre Dame ... during the day there was time to sightsee ... as well as time for Beauford to do sketches for portraits of all three loved ones along with a self-portrait, his greatest of many, that would be finished in 1965.

The biography gives no further details about what the family may have seen during its sightseeing forays.

For those who do not know Paris, here are some present day images of major landmarks and monuments that Emery, Gertrude, and Imogene likely saw during their stay:

The Eiffel Tower, viewed from boulevard Pasteur (very near the location of Beauford's rue Vercingétorix studio)

Eiffel Tower viewed from boulevard Pasteur
© Discover Paris!
Palais Garnier, Paris' opera house during Beauford's Paris years

Palais Garnier
© Discover Paris!
The Louvre, viewed from the Musée d'Orsay

Louvre
© Discover Paris!
Sacré Coeur Basilica, Montmartre

Sacré Coeur
© Discover Paris!
Place de la Concorde

Place de la Concorde
© Discover Paris!
And here is an image of the self-portrait that Beauford began during their visit:

Auto-portrait
(1965) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

It is currently held by the Whitney Museum of American Art. The portrait was featured during the exhibition Human Interest: Portraits from the Whitney's Collection that was shown from
April 27, 2016 through February 12, 2017.