1964 Beauford Delaney Abstract for Auction

On January 21, 2022 a beautiful Beauford Delaney abstract, signed and dated 1964, was offered at auction by De Baecque et Associés in Paris.

Untitled (1964) Oil on canvas
41 x 33 cm; 16.1 x 12.9 in
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Nineteen sixty-four (1964) was a busy year for Beauford. He received a $3,500 grant from the Fairfield Foundation in January, participated in a group show at the Galerie Internationale d'Art Contemporaine in the spring, displayed ten abstract gouaches in the Copenhagen exhibition entitled 10 American Negro Artists in July, and sold a large oil painting to the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Beauford sold several paintings to a collector in October, had works shown at Farleigh Dickinson University in October/November, and participated in a television interview for artists and writers who were members of the Artists Abroad for Johnson Committee. Most importantly, he prepared for the opening of his monographic exhibition at the Galerie Lambert in December.

Untitled, 1964 was part of the collection of Hélène Baltrusaitis, the woman who became director of the art center at the American Cultural Center in Paris in the wake of the departure of Darthea Speyer. According to biographer David Leeming, Baltrusaitis arranged for Beauford to contribute three abstract paintings for an itinerant show of works by American artists in December 1966. She also organized his participation in many exhibitions at the American Cultural Center and sponsored an evening dedicated to Beauford at the center in March 1969.

This painting (Lot No. 101) was estimated to sell for 8000€ - 12000€. It sold for 52,000€ (not including buyer's fees).