Composition in Blue Is Being Auctioned by Christie's

Beauford's Untitled (Composition in Blue) is one of the works I featured in Part 1 of a blog post called "Beauford's Blues."

It is being auctioned by Christie's New York as part of the First Open | Post-War & Contemporary Art online sale.

Lot 37
Untitled (Composition in Blue)
(1961) Gouache on wove paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

This work is signed and dated December 25, 1961.

At that time, Beauford resided at La Maison de Santé Nogent-sur-Marne, where he received psychiatric care from Dr. Gaston Ferdière.

According to biographer David Leeming, he arrived at the clinic on December 20, so he had some time to acclimate to his new surroundings before painting this work.

Solange du Closel and her husband drove Beauford to the clinic after having cared for him in their home. Presumably, they provided the materials he used to create Untitled (Composition in Blue).

I always have a feeling of lightness, of airiness, when I look at an image of this work. I wonder if Beauford felt this way when he painted it, given that he had been prescribed medication that Leeming says stopped his hallucinations.

The First Open | Post-War & Contemporary Art sale runs through July 18, 2025. The estimated sale price of Untitled (Composition in Blue) is $20,000 - $30,000.

For information about the sale, click HERE.

All Eyes Are on Beauford at the Drawing Center

Now that the Paris Noir exhibition at Paris' Centre Pompidou has closed, Beauford Delaney aficionados are turning their eyes westward to the dazzling monographic exhibition that features roughly 90 pieces of Beauford's work at The Drawing Center in NYC.

The center's Website presents In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney as "New York's first major Delaney museum exhibition in over thirty years and the first ever focused on his drawings—a medium central to his artistic practice."

Though a few oils punctuate the show, the majority of the works on display are rendered in ink, ballpoint pen, graphite, charcoal, pastels, gouache, or watercolor. They span Beauford's entire career from Boston (late 1920s) through Paris (early 1970s).

Untitled (Abstract Circles)
(1956) Pastel on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

These works are complemented by archival materials that include documentary photographs, correspondence, exhibition brochures, and press clippings.

ON THE INTERNET

Numerous articles, a podcast, and a video blog vividly describe this show, which opened on May 30, 2025.

Financial Times: Beauford Delaney — luminous painter admired by James Baldwin, Henry Miller and Georgia O’Keeffe

WNYC: Don't Overlook Beauford Delaney's Drawings (summary and transcript of Everand.com podcast mentioned below)

Self-portrait
(Undated) Oil on board
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Everand.com: "Don't Overlook Beauford Delaney's Drawings" from All of It

Self-portrait, Yaddo
(1950) Pastel, watercolor, and charcoal on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Wanafoto: In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney - The Drawing Center, New York

Berkshire Fine Arts: "Beauford Delaney at the Drawing Center: In the Medium of Life" by Rosenfeld

AT THE VENUE

The Drawing Center has organized a bilingual English-Spanish art workshop inspired by the exhibition. 

Facilitated by Ada Pilar Cruz, it will be held on July 19 at 11 AM:

DibujoAhora! DrawNow!

See images of the installation on The Drawing Center's Website:

The Drawing Center - Beauford Delaney Installation

and video of it courtesy of the James Kalm Rough Cut video blog on YouTube:

Untitled (Traffic Signals)
(1945) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery

Elise Ferguson and Dena Novak at SHRINE Beauford Delaney at the DRAWING CENTER

(Commentary begins at 14:43 minutes and runs through the end of this ~40-minute video.)

CATALOG 

Find the 220-page catalog (for purchase and/or online viewing) here:

Catalog: In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney

Screenshot of "Read Online" catalog
Catalog cover art: Self-Portrait
See below

Catalog cover art: Self-Portrait
(1964) Watercolor and gouache on paper
Photo credit: Knoxville Museum of Art
Courtesy Ruth and Joe Fielden, Knoxville, TN
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
By permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney will be on display through September 14, 2025.

The Drawing Center
35 Wooster St
New York, New York 10013
Hours: Wednesday through Sunday 12 PM - 6 PM

Last Days for Paris Noir

On March 22, 2025, I published an article entitled "Beauford Is Front and Center in Paris Noir" to present the epic exhibition that features the work of 150+ African and Afro-descendent artists who lived in Paris between 1950 and 2000.

Entrance to Paris Noir 
© Entrée to Black Paris

In what feels like the blink of an eye, Paris Noir is coming to an end.

Monday, June 30 is the last day that you will be able to see this show.

The French press was clearly enamored of Beauford's œuvre - I found his name (often accompanied by an image of one of his works or a photograph of him and James Baldwin) in more than 15 online articles about the exhibition.

His Portrait of a Young Man (1965), which hangs in Room 15 of the show, made the cover of Beaux Arts magazine.

Cover of April 9, 2025 edition of Beaux Arts Magazine
Fair use claim
Portrait of a Young Man
(1965) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
By permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

The exhibition has been enormously popular. Le Figaro reported that roughly 3,500 people attended the opening event, and according to Le Point, nearly 200,000 people had visited the show by May 21, 2025 (for an average of 3,746 visitors a day).

Exhibition attendees
Images © Entrée to Black Paris

Admiring Beauford's Street Scene
Images © Entrée to Black Paris

Admiring Beauford's self-portrait and portrait of James Baldwin
Images © Entrée to Black Paris

Paris Noir is on display in Galerie 1, Level 6 of the Centre Pompidou.

Signage for entrance to Paris Noir
© Entrée to Black Paris

Click HERE to purchase tickets.

Celebrating Music

On June 21 of each year, the City of Paris celebrates Summer Solstice with the Fête de la Musique (Music Festival).

In recognition of this year's festival, which is the 44th edition of the celebration, I am posting links to several Les Amis blog posts that highlight Beauford's love for all kinds of music.

Charlie Parker
(1968) Oil on canvas
Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester
Photograph by Joshua Nefsky; Courtesy of
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Mahalia and Mozart

Beauford and Charlie Parker

A Musical Interlude

Notre Dame and Fauré's Requiem

Tin Roof Blues

"The Doom Music"

Beauford's Playlist

Enjoy!