In his article for The Guardian about the Paris Noir exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, journalist Jason Okundaye writes:
"If [Gerard] Sekoto is the face of the Paris Noir exhibition, then [Beauford] Delaney is its beating heart."
Articles published by the French press about the exhibition seem to corroborate this observation.
L'EssentiART published an article that focuses solely on the Beauford Delaney works in the show. The title of the piece refers to Beauford as the "luminous red line" (fil rouge lumineux) of the exhibition.
A large number of articles include an image of one of Beauford's iconic portraits of James Baldwin.
(c. 1945-1950) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The painting represented in the image above is one of the two Beauford Delaney portraits of Baldwin that hang in the second room of the exhibition.
Artwork © Estate of Beauford Delaney
By permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Photo © Entrée to Black Paris
(1967) Oil on canvas
Artwork © Estate of Beauford Delaney
By permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Photo © Entrée to Black Paris
Of the 13 write-ups I found on the first three pages of Google by using the prompt "Beauford Delaney and Paris Noir," seven (7) of them use a full or cropped image of the older, multicolored portrait as the article's anchor image.
An additional two (2) of the articles use the image in the body of the article or in an image slider.
One can only speculate as to why so much attention is being paid to this particular work, especially since Beauford's dazzling portrait of Marian Anderson and his own stunning self-portrait are also part of the show.
What is certain is that Beauford has captivated the French press!
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