"Red" Is for Passion

It is generally agreed that the color "red" symbolizes passion and energy. The Sensational Color Website indicates that it

... speeds up our heart rate, blood flow, and body temperature. Red stimulates our senses of smell and taste, making us more sensitive to our environments. Red also stimulates the adrenal gland, making us more prone to take action and giving us more energy. Red is a physical stimulant.

"Red" was one of Beauford's favorite colors.

In Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney, biographer David Leeming recounts a story of Beauford's mother, Delia, putting a red bedspread on his bed in 1933, when he returned home for the first time after moving to New York. Leeming says that the color excited Beauford so much that he couldn't sleep all night.

Because Valentine's Day is only two days away, I thought I'd pave the way for this celebration of love and passion with some images of Beauford Delaney works in which shades of the color "red" are prominent.

Abstraction #12
(1963) Oil on canvas
Knoxville Museum of Art
Image courtesy of Levis Fine Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

 Untitled
(c. 1956) Watercolor and gouache on paper
Collection of the Delaney Estate
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Untitled
(1963) Aquarelle on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image © Discover Paris!

 Untitled
1956, Inks on paper
45 x 33.5 cm; 17.7" x 13.2"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

 The Sage Black
(1967) Oil on canvas
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Happy Valentine's Day from Les Amis de Beauford Delaney!