Beauford had multiple circles of friends and acquaintances in Paris.
One of them was a group of African-American artists who were a generation younger than him.
This group included Herb Gentry, Ed Clark, Harold Cousins, and Bob Blackburn.
It also included Larry Potter.
Photo by Robert King
Source: Explorations in the City of Light:
African Americans in Paris, 1945-1965
Fair Use Claim
When I published the article about reviewing auction house Websites to familiarize oneself with Beauford's work, I came across the image below on Case Antiques' Website.
(1963) Charcoal on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
I recalled having published an article about their sale of this work, but at the time of publication, I did not have an inkling as to who the subject might be.
It was only after seeing the Paris Noir exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris that I thought of Larry Potter in the context of this "portrait on paper."
At the exhibition, in the room entitled "Le saut dans l'abstraction" ("The Leap into Abstraction"), Beauford's work is displayed along with that of Ed Clark, Herb Gentry, Harold Cousins, and Potter.
Larry Potter
Oil on linen canvas
Paris Noir exhibition, 2025
Centre Pompidou, Paris, FRANCE
Image © Entrée to Black Paris
The charcoal portrait of Potter that was sold by Case Antiques is clearly inspired by the photo shown above. Beauford sketched a mirror image of him, gave him a more somber expression, and dressed him differently.
But the posture is the same.
Potter first came to Paris in 1956. He returned to the States briefly before moving back to Paris in 1958. His work and Beauford's were shown in the 10 American Negro Artists exhibition at Den Frie in Copenhagen, Denmark in July 1964.
Potter died from an asthma attack in Paris in 1966, when he was only 40 years old.
Beauford was particularly saddened by his early demise, writing to his friends, Billy and Irene Rose, that he "supported it not too well."
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