Christie's to Auction The Sage Black

Christie's will auction Beauford's iconic portrait of James Baldwin entitled The Sage Black during its 20th Century Evening Sale on November 17, 2025.

Lot 20 A
The Sage Black
(1967) Oil on canvas
signed, inscribed, titled and dated
 'The Sage Black Beauford Delaney Paris 1967'
(on the reverse)
35 ½ x 33 in. (90.2 x 83.8 cm.)
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

Les Amis has published posts that mention or feature this painting many times before:

Beauford's Portraits of James Baldwin - Part 2

Beauford and the Sage

Beauford and Free Lunch - Part 2

Romare Beardon and Harry Henderson on Beauford

Beauford and the Civil Rights Movement

Christie's estimates the sale price to be between $500,000 and $700,000.

For information about the auction, click HERE.

Finding Higher Ground: Beauford at the Bistro at the Bijou

The Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) has the largest public collection of Beauford's work in the world.

Knoxville Museum of Art
© Wells International Foundation

It has created a space dedicated to works by Beauford and his brother, Joseph, as part of its permanent exhibition entitled Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee.

Beauford Delaney works in Higher Ground exhibition
© Wells International Foundation

As part of its public programming to increase awareness of the exhibition, KMA has organized an event in collaboration with a local downtown restaurant called Bistro at the Bijou, where Knoxvillians will celebrate Beauford's life, his art, and his...

GUMBO!

Knoxville Museum of Art promotional image

In 2012, Les Amis published an article about Beauford's gumbo recipe, which appeared in a 1949 edition of the Greenwich Village Gourmet.

Bistro at the Bijou will reproduce this recipe during dinner service from 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm on November 18, 2025. Attendees will enjoy a live performance of jazz by the Greg Hardy Trio.

To read the gumbo recipe, click HERE.

The Bistro at the Bijou
807 South Gay Street
Knoxville, TN 37902
Phone: (865) 544-0537

Following Love...

In October 1954, Beauford wrote:

"The privilege and right of choice and following love in all its difficult and painful rhythm, knowing the satisfaction that comes from the power of feeling and stimulation that comes from those we love; it's the essence of our work."

Today, I am presenting images of several of Beauford's abstracts, currently held by the Knoxville Museum of Art, that evoke this sentiment for me.

Untitled (Clamart)
(1959) Watercolor and gouache on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

Untitled
(1960) Watercolor on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

Untitled (Abstract Circles)
(1956) Pastel on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

Black-Red-Gold Abstraction
(1963) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

Untitled
(c. 1962-1963) Watercolor on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY