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Saturday, May 9, 2020

Beauford's Portrait of Larry Calcagno for Sale


Black Art Auction is the only auction house in the world that is solely dedicated to the sale of African-American fine art. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, it will hold its inaugural sale on May 16.

Among the 153 works available for acquisition is Beauford's 1953 portrait of Larry Calcagno.

Portrait of a Young Man (Larry Calcagno)
(1953) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

This painting was shown in the Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris traveling exhibition mounted by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 2004.

Beauford and Calcagno became friends in Paris in 1953, the year that Beauford painted this portrait. The two men developed a deep and residing friendship that is poignantly expressed in letters they exchanged for almost twenty years.

In one of these letters, Beauford's comments about changing times might just have easily been written today, given the upheaval in the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

"These days are so full of change - mondial and personal.... [O]ne tries to keep in contact with the veriations [sic] and constant looking back[,] looking into the future[,] and utilizing every possible in the unique marvel of the present."

Portrait of a Young Man (Larry Calcagno) has been assigned Lot Number 29. Its estimated value is $25,000-35,000.

To learn more about the work, click HERE.

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