The Sage Black - Sold by Christie's

During its 20th Century Evening Sale on November 17, 2025, Christie's sold Beauford's The Sage Black from the Collection of Robert and Faye Davidson.

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

Two fairly recent descriptions of this bold work resonate with me.

The first, written by curator Stephen C. Wicks of the Knoxville Museum of Art, was published in the museum's Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin: Through the Unusual Door catalog in 2020:

"Of Delaney's many images of Baldwin, The Black Sage represents one of his most powerfully expressive portrayals. The writer's larger than live visage exceeds the canvas's vertical span. The painting's title and the sitter's enlarged eyes suggest Delaney's recognition of his protégé's emergence as a cultural and artistic visionary. Delaney's use of swirling color and dripping black paint to define the contours of Baldwin's face brings to mind the writer's recollection of the artist calling to his attention the strange beauty of an oily reflection 'moving like mercury in the black water of the gutter.'"

The other description was written by Rachel Cohen and published in Amy J. Elias' 2025 anthology of scholarly essays entitled Speculative Light: The Arts of Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin:

"... the head of the sitter stretches up to the very top of the canvas and seemingly beyond, suggesting that the viewer might be within that person—or the whole world might be.Lines of a striking periwinkle blue course aruond the face and shoulders and through the background, as does an ochre yellow .... A pattern of colors is running through the atmosphere and the person.

To read a full essay that provides additional painterly description of The Sage Black and information about Beauford's life at the time he created this work, visit Christie's Website and click on Lot Essay.

The estimated sale price for this celebrated work was $500,000 to $700,000.

The actual sale price was $1,524,000, including a 27% buyer's premium.

The hammer price of $1.2 million is a new record for a Beauford Delaney sale at auction.