Beauford at Swann Auction Galleries: October 2013 and February 2014

Beauford's work continues to be listed and sold at Swann Auction Galleries' semi-annual African American Fine Art sale.

Three of his paintings were placed "on the block" during the "Point of Departure: Postwar African-American Fine Art" sale in October 2013. One of them, Embrun, was exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. It was purchased for $10,000.*

Embrun
(1963) Watercolor on wove paper
641x501 mm; 25 1/4x19 3/4 inches
Signed and dated "July 19, 1963" in ink, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
In February 2014, a single painting was listed during the "Shadows Uplifted: The Rise of African-American Fine Art sale.

Untitled (Portrait of a Woman with Hair Ribbon)
(ca 1940) Watercolor on wove paper
641x483 mm; 25 1/4x19 inches
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
A work of color pastels on pale gray wove paper, it came from a private collection. The seller acquired it directly from Beauford's brother Joseph.

It sold for $4,500.*

The next African American Fine Art Sale will be held in June 2014. For more information, contact Alaina McEachin at .

*At auction, there are two prices--the hammer price, or the price at which the item sells during the auction, and the price with the buyer's premium. All auction houses have a buyer's premium that the buyer pays to the auction house on top of the hammer price. Swann's premium is 20%. The prices indicated in this article are hammer prices.

A Plaque for Beauford: Latest News

I am thrilled to announce that the City of Paris has granted approval for the placement of a plaque honoring Beauford! It will be affixed to the façade of the two-star Hôtel Odessa, 28, rue d'Odessa, in the 14th arrondissement.

The hotel is modernizing its appearance. When I first visited several months ago, the entrance to the lobby was shaded by a brown awning and the space above the door was opaque. The old model of the Paris tourism plaque was displayed to the left of the door.

Hôtel Odessa Entrance
© Discover Paris!
Now a new, transparent canopy graces the entryway and a glass panel above the door allow more light to enter the lobby. A sleek, new plaque provides details of the hotel's classification for tourists.

Recently renovated entryway at Hôtel Odessa
© Discover Paris!

New canopy at Hôtel Odessa
© Discover Paris!
Beauford's plaque will be placed to the right of the entryway so as to be readily visible to all who pass by.

The next steps will be to determine the final dimensions of the plaque and the material from which it will be constructed.

I will post information about progress on the installation as soon as it becomes available.

Beauford at New York Live Arts Festival

Two quintessential paintings by Beauford will be displayed on April 24, 2014 in conjunction with a panel discussion on James Baldwin at the upcoming New York Live Arts Festival.

Portrait of James Baldwin
1965
Oil on canvas
25.5 x 21.25 inches
Signed and dated lower left
Image courtesy of Levis Fine Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Two Women on a Bench
1970
Oil on canvas
21.25 x 25 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The 1965 Portrait of James Baldwin is one of several portraits* that Beauford painted of Baldwin. Two Women on a Bench is a painting from Beauford's Rosa Parks Series.

Following are the details about the event:

"Baldwin & Delaney"

Apr 24 at 2pm
$10
New York Live Arts Theater

Rachel Cohen, whose critically acclaimed A Chance Meeting braids a sequence of seminal encounters across American cultural history, including Baldwin’s with both Richard Avedon and Norman Mailer, will read from a third chapter, focusing on the young writer’s life-transforming encounter with the sublime painter Beauford Delaney, at the latter’s Greenwich Village apartment. Following her reading, Cohen will engage Diedra Harris-Kelley, Co-Director of the Romare Bearden Foundation and Baldwin and Delaney biographer David Leeming, in a conversation about Delaney’s enduring importance in Baldwin’s life.

To purchase tickets for this event, click here.

*For more information on Beauford's portraits of James Baldwin, click on the links below:

Beauford's Portraits of James Baldwin - Part 1
Beauford's Portraits of James Baldwin - Part 2

Visiting Thiais Cemetery - Part 2

Last week, I reported on the new tramway that runs past Thiais Cemetery, making it easier than ever to visit Beauford's final resting place.

This week, I am sharing photos of the cemetery that I took in late March. They capture some of the foliage and flora that reflect the arrival of spring.

This is the conservation office, where cemetery records are held.

Conservation Office
© Discover Paris!
Division 17 is one of two military divisions at the cemetery. In one corner, there is an area devoted to Muslims who gave their lives for France.

Division 17 - entrance
© Discover Paris!

Division 17 - Christian and Jewish graves
© Discover Paris!

Muslim graves
© Discover Paris!

Muslim tombstone
© Discover Paris!
Some divisions have beautiful flowering trees and bushes.

Division 49
© Discover Paris!

Division 56
© Discover Paris!
Many have patches of wildflowers that make a lovely, colorful carpet among the graves.

Wildflowers
© Discover Paris!
In Division 94, the Jardin de Souvenir is where the ashes of two African-American friends of Beauford - Larry Potter and Leroy Haynes - were scattered after their concessions at Thiais Cemetery and Père Lachaise Cemetery, respectively, were not renewed. Larry Potter was an abstract artist. Leroy Haynes was a restaurant owner, boxer, and actor.

Jardin de Souvenir
© Discover Paris!
In Division 86, where Beauford is buried, this tomb is overlain with an explosion of yellow daffodils. It is only a stone's throw from Beauford's gravesite.

Daffodils covering a grave
© Discover Paris!
As yellow was Beauford's favorite color, I am sure that he would have loved to see this!

Beauford's tombstone is as pristine today as it was when it was laid in 2010.

Beauford's tombstone - March 2014
© Discover Paris!
The cemetery is an oasis of calm. Though it takes planning to come here, the effort is well worth it!