A View on Self-portraiture

The Michael Rosenfeld Gallery has just published an online exhibition entitled Facing Self: The Artist Revealed. The curator has included what is perhaps Beauford's most enigmatic self-portrait in this exhibition.

 

Beauford Delaney (1901-1979)

Self Portrait, 1962

oil on canvas

25 1/2" x 21 1/4" x 3/4", signed 

© Estate of Beauford Delaney; Private Collection

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

The introduction to the exhibition consists of an extensive quote by artist Pat Steir, which, to me, perfectly describes Beauford's journey through self-portraiture. Here are a couple of excerpts of that quote:

Say you draw a picture of your own face. It takes an enormous amount of abstract thinking to get your hand to do what you want it to do. And the result is a visual abstraction made from the tangible reality of your face. So there is a great deal of abstraction involved in that self-image.

All art is figurative, in a certain way. . . But every figure of the self is a disguise. Everything humans make is an attempt to make a mirror. The face in a painting is a mask. It covers a reality that is ultimately ungraspable. . .

With these thoughts in mind, I'm re-posting images of a few of Beauford's self-portraits—including one that will soon be available for purchase at auction. (I'll post more on this next week.)

Self-portrait
(1944) Oil on canvas
Art Institute of Chicago
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Self-portrait
(1972) Gouache on paper
Collection of David Leeming
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color
Catalog cover

Self-portrait
(1964) Oil on canvas
Royall Collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator