Christmas Wishes from Les Amis de Beauford Delaney

The Christmas season is upon us once again! This year, I've selected a carol by one of Beauford's favorite singers - Marian Anderson - to wish you all a joyous holiday. It's "Silent Night."

Silent Night

Marian Anderson
(1965) Oil on canvas
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Click on the link above the image and enjoy.


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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Reid Hall, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!

To contribute to the show, click HERE.

To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.

Beauford at Swann Auction Galleries: December 2015 Sale Results

The results of Swann Auction Galleries' African-American Fine Art winter sale are in.

Three of the four Beauford Delaney paintings offered at auction were sold.

The watercolor entitled Untitled (Abstraction in Pink) (Lot 72) sold for $8,750.

Untitled (Abstraction in Pink)
(1964) Watercolor on Arches paper
572 x 394 mm; 22 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The gouache entitled Untitled (Yellow Field) (Lot 73) sold for $6,250.

Untitled (Yellow Field)
(1966) Gouache on thin wove paper
336 x 222 mm; 13 1/4 x 8 3/4 inches
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The oil monotype entitled Untitled (Woman in an Abstract Field) (Lot 74) sold for $7,000.

Untitled (Woman in an Abstract Field)
(1966) Oil monotype, with hand-painted additions in oil,
on cream wove paper
616 x 483 mm; 24 x 19 inches
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
All sale prices mentioned above include Swann's buyer's premium.*

Lot 71, a watercolor abstraction in green and blue, remains unsold.

*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. The buyer’s premium for items purchased directly through Swann is 25%. Swann Auction Galleries now reports the "hammer price" and the price that include the buyer's premium in its online catalog.


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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Reid Hall, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!

To contribute to the show, click HERE.

To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.

Beauford at Swann Auction Galleries: December 2015 Sale

Swann Auction Galleries is having a winter sale of African-American Fine Art this year. It will take place at 2:30 PM on Tuesday, December 15, 2015.

Four Beauford Delaney paintings will be auctioned at the event. All are untitled.

Lot 71 is an abstraction in green and blue.

Untitled (Abstraction in Green and Blue)
(1963) Watercolor on thick wove paper
660 x 508 mm; 26 x 20 inches
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
It is signed, dated and inscribed "Clermont Seine" in blue ink at the lower left.

Beauford gave this work on paper to James and Gloria Jones in Paris. It was exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem and is currently part of a private collection in New York. Its estimated value is $7,000 - 10,000.

Lot 72 is an abstraction in pink that was owned by Beauford's friend Al Hirschfeld prior to being held by Philippe Briet and two subsequent private collectors.

Untitled (Abstraction in Pink)
(1964) Watercolor on Arches paper
572 x 394 mm; 22 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This work is signed, inscribed "Paris" and dated "July 1964" in blue ink at the lower right. Its estimated value is $8000 - $12000.

Lot 73 is a gouache on thin wove paper.

Untitled (Yellow Field)
(1966) Gouache on thin wove paper
336 x 222 mm; 13 1/4 x 8 3/4 inches
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Signed and dated in ink at the lower right, it is currently held by a private collector in New York. Its estimated worth is $4000 - $6000.

Lot 74 is a portrait.

Untitled (Woman in an Abstract Field)
(1966) Oil monotype, with hand-painted additions in oil,
on cream wove paper
616 x 483 mm; 24 x 19 inches
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This oil monotype is signed and dated in ink at the lower corners. With an estimated value of $10000 - $15000, it is part of a private collection in New York.

Preview dates for the show are as follows: Saturday, December 12 from 12 PM - 5 PM; Monday, December 14 from 10 AM - 6 PM; and Tuesday, December 15 from 10 AM - noon.

For more information, contact Nigel Freeman at

.


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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Reid Hall, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!

To contribute to the show, click HERE.

To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.

Where to Find Beauford's Art: Art Basel Miami Beach and Treadway Toomey Auctions

Beauford's art is being featured in two major events this week.

The art world is abuzz over the annual Art Basel Miami Beach art fair, North America's "foremost international modern and contemporary art fair". It takes place from December 3-6 this year.

Michael Rosenfeld Gallery (Booth K4 at the fair) is displaying the Beauford Delaney work below:

Untitled
(c.1958), Oil on canvas
30" x 25" / 76.2 x 63.5 cm
signed and dated
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
and has included nine additional Beauford Delaney works in its MRG Art Basel 2015 checklist (see pages 15-17).

Meanwhile:

In the Chicago area, Beauford’s portrait of his dear friend, Larry Calcagno, is up for sale in the 20th Century Art & Design Auction by Treadway Toomey Gallery.

Portrait of a Young Man (Larry Calcagno)
(1953) Oil on canvas
Signed and dated, 31.75" x 25.5"
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This painting was shown in the Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris exhibition organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It hung there from November 21, 2004 – February 20, 2005 and was subsequently presented by the Knoxville Museum of Art (April 8 – June 25, 2005), the Greenville County Museum of Art (August 3 – October 2, 2005), and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (November 12, 2005 – January 28, 2006).

Its estimated value for the current sale, which takes place today (December 5, 2015), is between $15,000 and $20,000.

Treadway Toomey, which represents an affiliation between the John Toomey Gallery in Oak Park, IL and the Treadway Gallery in Cincinnati, OH, has sold art by African Americans since the 1990s. The organization began formally offering a collective African-American art sale in June 2014. During that first event, one of Beauford’s abstract paintings from his Paris years sold for $54,900*.

Untitled
(c. 1968-1973) Oil on canvas
Signed, 8.66" x 12.99"
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Thom Pegg is the African-American art specialist for the auction house. He has been working with museums and important private collectors for many years to help them develop their collections of African-American art.


*Including Buyer's Premium - an additional service charge for which the buyer is responsible, to be added to the price of the item.

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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Reid Hall, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!

To contribute to the show, click HERE.

To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.

Beauford's Art: Reminiscence of the Painting "Portrait of a Young Man (Burton D. Reinfrank)"

I recently had the pleasure of viewing Burt Reinfrank's private collection of Beauford Delaney paintings and was surprised to find this portrait:

Portrait of Burt Reinfrank
(1971) Charcoal on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
© Discover Paris!
hanging next to the color portrait of Burt that I know so well:

Portrait of Burt Reinfrank
(1968) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Photo: © Discover Paris!
Here's the "back story" as told by Burt Reinfrank:

One afternoon in September 1966 I called at Beauford's studio and saw an almost completed portrait on his easel. It was of James Speyer. In the portrait, Speyer wore a yellow turtleneck sweater against a brown background. I passed by the studio a week later and was surprised to see the color of the sweater and that of the background had been reversed. Beauford explained that when Speyer saw the painting, he asked him to reverse the colors.

Portrait of James Speyer
(1966) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
I liked the portrait and asked Beauford if he would paint one of me that same size (60 francs). He said yes, if I would bring him the canvas.

In December, I went by an art supply shop in Montparnasse, picked up a canvas, and brought it to Beauford's studio. He immediately put it on his easel, sat me in his "sitters" chair facing the back of the easel, sat down in front, and started drawing in charcoal. He drew for more than an hour, recounting different episodes in his life.

Suddenly he stopped and said, "It's finished. Come have a look."

Photo of Beauford Delaney drawing of Burton Reinfrank
Photo courtesy of Burton Reinfrank
When I saw the drawing, I said: "It's great, keep if for me just as it is. I will bring you another canvas for the painting." But when I came by the studio a week later, the drawing had disappeared under paint.

I said: "Beauford, I wanted the drawing as it was." He replied: "I'll do you another."

He did, a smaller charcoal drawing on canvas in 1971.

Photo of Beauford and Burt Reinfrank
holding his second charcoal portrait
Image courtesy of Burton Reinfrank

At the outset I had told Beauford that what I wanted was a great painting, not necessarily a likeness. Beauford proceeded to paint Portrait of a Young Man (Burton Reinfrank) with no further sitting.

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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Reid Hall, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!

To contribute to the show, click HERE.

To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.

University of Arizona to Augment "Beauford Delaney and Paris" Exhibition

Imagine yourself in the Grande Salle at Reid Hall, Columbia Global Centers | Europe in Paris. You are standing in front of this painting:

Nativity Scene
(1961) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
You hold up your smart phone, point the lens at the painting, and scan it. Within seconds, an overlay appears at the corner of your screen and a 30-second video gives you the "back story" about this work. You are then given the option to click through to a Web site that provides additional information.

This is what the University of Arizona Augmented Reality project will allow attendees of the Beauford Delaney and Paris: A Breathtaking Evolution to experience!

Dr. Bryan Carter, Associate Professor of the University of Arizona's Department of Africana Studies, conceived this project. He specializes in African-American literature of the 20th century with a primary focus on the Harlem Renaissance and digital culture. He has been bringing University of Arizona students to Paris since 2013.

Honors students enrolled in Dr. Carter's Harlem Renaissance course can apply to participate in this project as fulfillment of an "honors contract," while others can apply to participate as independent study students. Those accepted will come to Paris a week prior to the opening of the exhibition to video short segments of a docent explaining some aspect of the 20 paintings selected for the project. They will take high resolution images of these paintings, upload them to a digital platform, and upload the videos and other files as overlays.

The exhibition vernissage (opening) is scheduled for February 3, 2016 and the show will run from February 4-29, 2016. Those who are unable to attend will be able to use the Augmented Reality digital application to scan images in the catalog to access the overlays.

Les Amis de Beauford Delaney and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are pleased that the technology of Augmented Reality will expand the reach and scope of this groundbreaking exhibition. We are currently accepting donations to fund this study abroad experience.

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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Reid Hall, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!

To contribute to the show, click HERE.

To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.

Beauford Delaney Paints Marian Anderson: A Play

Beauford's portrait of Marian Anderson is undeniably an exquisite work. Award-winning screenwriter, playwright, and two-time Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellow Arden Kass* was so inspired by the portrait that she wrote a play about Beauford and Anderson entitled Beauford Delaney Paints Marian Anderson.

Marian Anderson
(1965) Oil on canvas
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
I found the play on the Indie Theater Now Web site, purchased it for a mere $1.29, and read it avidly. As the story unfolded, I discovered that Beauford is observing episodes in Anderson's life as he paints her.

Ms. Kass granted Les Amis an interview, which you can read below.

Les Amis: When did you first learn about Beauford Delaney and his work?

Arden Kass: I had been invited to contribute a play about an American woman for a project called "365 Women, 365 plays," and I chose to write about Marian Anderson. I knew that she had lived and worked literally around the corner from my house in Philadelphia, that I walked my dog past her former home frequently -- but I had not taken the time to educate myself about her life and work.

In the course of researching Miss Anderson, I came across a mention of Beauford's portrait and was immediately fascinated by him as an artist and by his unique perspective as a person. I read as much as I could find about him, and realized that his portrait of her, while somewhat abstract, captured her more accurately than so many of the photos, interviews and articles I had come across.

Les Amis: Without giving the story away, what is it about?

Arden Kass: Miss Anderson was a notoriously private person and gave away very little of her personal feelings in interviews. The most insight into her personal passions or feelings seems to come through her music. But in my play everything she does not say in words is visible in Beauford's portrait.

Les Amis: Is Beauford a character in the play? Or are you using his name in the title for some other reason?

Arden Kass: Beauford is a full-fledged character in the play -- everything that happens is filtered through his consciousness and his artistic connection with Anderson's music.

Les Amis: Tell us more about the play.

Arden Kass: I wrote Beauford Delaney Paints Marian Anderson in 2014. It is a one act play that lasts about 25 minutes, maybe 1/2 hour if I incorporate recorded music. It has been published by Indie Theater Now, but due to my busy schedule I have not sought a production of it. However, I may be presenting a staged reading in New York at the NY History Society Library.

For a short play, it's a complex script (like Beauford's portrait, that says everything at once.) It requires several actors but isn't very long, so I am not sure how we would achieve a production unless it was part of a festival, for example. I may revisit it and try to double some of the 7 roles.

A composer recently asked me to work with her to expand the play into a musical, but I'm not certain how we'd create a musical about Marian Anderson without using her own music...

Les Amis: How can people stay abreast of developments about the play?

Arden Kass: I have a website, ardenkass.com -- When something happens, I'll announce it there.

*Arden is a member of the Dramatists Guild and BMI Musical Theatre Workshop in New York. Her most recent theatrical venture, School Play, based entirely on interviews with 100
Pennsylvania residents, has just completed a 15-venue statewide tour. Additional projects include book and lyrics for a musical comedy about the marketing genius who first sold
sexy lingerie to American women in the 1940s (at BMI) and a new one-act about classical singer Marian Anderson slated for a New York reading in 2016.

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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Reid Hall, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!

To contribute to the show, click HERE.

To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.

Beauford's Marian Anderson Portrait in "The Art of Music"

The San Diego Museum of Art is hosting a mega exhibition called The Art of Music. It is billed as "a multifaceted and culturally diverse exploration of the intersection between music and art."

Focused around three central themes: "The Musician as Motif," "Social Intersections of Art and Music," and "Formal Connections of Art and Music," the show celebrates the centennial of Balboa Park, which is home to the museum. It pays tribute to the daily musical performances held in the park during the year-long 1915 Panama–California Exposition.

Beauford loved music. I imagine he'd be thrilled to know that his portrait of Marian Anderson, which is currently held by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, is being shown as part of The Art of Music.

Marian Anderson
(1965) Oil on canvas
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
In a San Diego Union-Tribune review of the exhibition, journalist James Chute has the following to say about the portrait:

Anderson was an iconic figure in the early civil rights movement, and in this seated portrait — with its vivid yellow background, with her hands folded, and an expression in which each viewer will find his own meaning — she’s looking right at you. This is the sort of painting that if you were living with it, it could change your life. As that’s unlikely (the living-with-it part), just make a point of stopping by to see her whenever you are in the museum. You may even find yourself starting up a conversation...

The museum has included this painting as part of the "The Musician as Motif" theme. It can be found in the subsection for portraits in Gallery 4.

The Art of Music will be on display until February 7, 2016. For more information, click HERE.

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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Reid Hall, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!

To contribute to the show, click HERE.

To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.

Where to Find Beauford's Art: Minneapolis Institute of Arts

During a recent trip to Minneapolis, I had the pleasure of visiting the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. This extraordinary museum holds several Beauford Delaney works.

Currently on display is the "famous" raincoat painting, a vibrant abstract that Beauford created using a raincoat fragment for canvas.

Untitled (raincoat painting)
(1954) Oil on raincoat fragment
Gift of Jacques and Solange du Closel
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
It sits on a pedestal that allows visitors to view the rear of the painting, which reveals the seam (center) and pocket (upper right) that bear witness to the origin of the canvas.

Rear of Untitled (raincoat painting)
(1954) Oil on raincoat fragment
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Also on display is one of many paintings in which Beauford depicts Greenwich Village's Washington Square Park. It is being shown as part of a special exhibition entitled American Modernism: Selections from the Kunin Collection.

Untitled (Washington Square Park)
(1952) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The Myron Kunin Collection of American Art is widely considered to be one of the most important privately held collections of American art in the world. Untitled (Washington Square Park) was selected as one of 80 works that the Kunin family has placed on long-term loan to the museum from the ~550 pieces of art in its collection.

MIA holds four additional Beauford Delaney works, all of which are currently on reserve. All were shown in the MIA exhibition From New York to Paris.

Jazz Quartet
(1946) Oil on canvas
On loan from a private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Clamart Red
(1958) Oil on canvas
On loan from a private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Abstract Composition
(1955) Gouache and watercolor
Gift of the Harriet Hanley Estate
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Ciel (Sky)
(1960) Color screenprint
Gift of the Harriet Hanley Estate
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Reid Hall, and the Wells International Foundation are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! To sign-up to receive information about this show, click HERE.

Beauford's Art: Portraits of Donors to the Reid Hall Exhibition

The February 2016 exhibition of Beauford Delaney works at Reid Hall would not be possible without the generosity and passion of several Paris art collectors. Beauford painted portraits of four of them:

Burt Reinfrank,

Burton Reinfrank
(1968) Oil on canvas
Image courtesy of Burton Reinfrank
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Solange du Closel,

Mme du Closel No. 4
(1972) Pastel on paper
G. R. N'Namdi Gallery
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Geneviève Brouard,

Portrait of Geneviève Brouard
(1964) Oil on canvas
Signed on back: Beauford Delaney 1964
Image © Discover Paris!
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

and Robert Tricoire.

Portrait of Robert Tricoire
(1969) Oil on canvas
Image © Discover Paris!
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Portraits of Mme du Closel (now deceased), Robert Tricoire, and Geneviève Brouard will be part of the Reid Hall exhibition. Robert Tricoire, Geneviève Brouard, the family of Mme du Closel, and the daughter of Burt Reinfrank are expected to attend the show.

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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Reid Hall, and the Wells International Foundation are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! To sign-up to receive information about this show, click HERE.

Beauford at Reid Hall - An Update

In February 2015, I announced that Les Amis had entered into discussion with Reid Hall regarding the organization of an exhibition of Beauford's work. We envisioned this to be the second of a series of exhibitions celebrating the history of African-American artists in Paris (the first being the Romare Bearden exhibition that took place in February 2015).

Courtyard at Reid Hall
© Discover Paris!
Today, I'm thrilled to announce that we have made tremendous progress in organizing the show!

Our working title is Beauford Delaney et Paris: Une évolution prodigeuse (Beauford Delaney and Paris: A breathtaking evolution). It will be held from February 4-29, 2016.

This major exhibition will consist of over 40 paintings and works on paper from Beauford's Paris years. It will hang in La Grande Salle at Reid Hall. This ~1400 sq. ft. room will house Beauford Delaney oils, gouaches, inks, and aquarelles, most of which have never been shown before! All are being loaned by local collectors.

La Grande Salle - Reid Hall - during Bearden exhibition in February 2015
© Discover Paris!
Les Amis is pleased to welcome the Wells International Foundation (WIF), an American non-profit organization, as a partner for the organization and fundraising for the show.

Our collaboration with WIF began with the photographing of Beauford’s works for the catalog. We have engaged Stéphane Lariven of Franconville, France to undertake this critical task. Two out of three planned photo sessions are now complete.

Preparing La Fleuve
© Discover Paris!

Photographing La Fleuve
© Discover Paris!
Part of WIF’s mission is to provide an opportunity for university students to attend the show to explore the influence of African Diaspora culture in France and throughout the world and to promote the benefits of study abroad in Paris for students across the globe. For this reason, we are incorporating a study abroad component into the exhibition.

We have entered into discussion with the University of Arizona regarding the development of an Augmented Reality project that will involve several of the paintings in the exhibition.

If you'd like to support our exhibition with a financial contribution, send e-mail to



Your donation (through WIF) is tax deductible!

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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney and Reid Hall are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! To sign-up to receive information about this show, click HERE.

Beauford Delaney Plaque Installed at Hôtel Odessa

The first Beauford Delaney plaque to be approved for installation in Montparnasse is now in place at the Hôtel Odessa on rue d'Odessa in Paris' 14th arrondissement.

Hôtel Odessa entrance
© Discover Paris!
The Odessa was one of the first places that Beauford stayed when he came to Paris in 1953. It was recommended to him during an evening of merriment after a serendipitous encounter with Earl Kirkham, a painter friend from New York, and several other Americans at the Dôme Café. He moved into the Odessa on his second day in town.

The installation of the plaque on the hotel’s freshly painted façade went smoothly. Patrick Fillere of J. Poulain et Fils*, the company that created the plaque, was on hand to supervise.

Patrick Fillere looks on as placement of the plaque is verified
© Discover Paris!
During the installation, two passersby spotted Beauford's name on the plaque. They stopped and begin to discuss between themselves why his name seemed familiar. After asking me a few questions, they came to realize that they had interviewed Beauford for a documentary that they made about Henry Miller in 1971!

Claude Gallot directed the documentary and released it as edition No. 15 of his video magazine Variances. Florence Gruère, award-winning photographer, conducted the interview.

They graciously consented to pose for this photo in front of the plaque.

Florence Gruère and Claude Gallot
at Beauford Delaney plaque installation
© Discover Paris!
Finally, the installation was complete.

Plaque installation complete!
© Discover Paris!
The inscription on the plaque reads:

BEAUFORD DELANEY,

portraitiste et peintre expressioniste abstrait,

né à Knoxville, Tennessee, USA,

a vécu à cette adresse en 1953.
Translation:

BEAUFORD DELANEY, portraitist and abstract expressionist painter, born in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, lived at this address in 1953.
A second plaque, which commemorates the Mille Colonnes restaurant where Beauford frequently took meals, was installed at Hôtel le M in June 2015. Hôtel Odessa and Hôtel Le M are stops on the Beauford Delaney memorial walk created by Discover Paris! entitled "Beauford Delaney's Montparnasse."


*J. Poulain et Fils
19-21 boulevard de Ménilmontant
75011 Paris
Tel: 01 43 79 04 32

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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney and Reid Hall are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! To sign-up to receive information about this show, click HERE.

Beauford's Pablo Picasso Portrait for Auction

Artcurial in Paris has placed Beauford's portrait of Pablo Picasso up for auction.

Portrait of Pablo Picasso
Oil on canvas, 46 cm x 38 cm
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Christian Parramon
The painting is on view at Artcurial on the following dates:

16 October, 11 AM - 7 PM
17 October, 11 AM - 6 PM
18 October, 2 PM - 6 PM
19 October, 11 AM - 6 PM

in preparation for the Impressionist & Modern Art auction (Sale 2796) that will take place on 20 October at 11 AM.

I wrote an article about Beauford and Pablo Picasso last summer. Click HERE to read about Picasso's influence on Beauford's work.

Artcurial is located at 7, rond-point des Champs-Élysées 75008 Paris, France. For more information, contact:

Elodie Landais
E-mail:
Phone: +33 1 42 99 20 84


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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney and Reid Hall are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! To sign-up to receive information about this show, click HERE.

Charlie Parker Acquired by Rochester's Memorial Art Gallery

Beauford's painting of Charlie Parker was recently acquired by the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY. It hung in a show that celebrating the opening of the museum's new galleries in August 2015.

Untitled (aka Charlie "Bird" Parker), 1968
Oil on canvas
28 3/4" x 23 1/2", signed and dated
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
The museum's information page about the painting lists its name simply as Charlie Parker.

Charlie Parker and several other paintings by Beauford were shown in the Whitney Museum of Art's show Blues for Smoke in 2013. Actor Billy Dee Williams purchased this portrait from Beauford during a visit that he and James Baldwin paid to Beauford's studio.

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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney and Reid Hall are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! To sign-up to receive information about this show, click HERE.

To the Light - A Play about Beauford and James Baldwin

Playwright Bil Wright has written a new play about the intricate and sometimes volatile relationship between Beauford and James Baldwin.

James Baldwin and Beauford at the American Cultural Center
Photo: U.S. Information Service
To the Light (A Fantasy Inspired by Two American Geniuses: Baldwin and Delaney) explores the bond between Beauford and Jimmy, imagining their friendship from their first meeting through each of their deaths.

The play will be read at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse on October 7 and 8, 2015. Commissioned in part by the Harlem Stage Fund for New Work, it is being directed by Reginald L. Douglas.

Harlem Stage’s unique focus has been to identify visionary artists of color and support them by commissioning, presenting and producing their work - work that responds to the social and political conditions that shape lives. It has presented performances in traditional and non-traditional theater forms that speak to the Harlem community for years. The opening of The Gatehouse in 2006 enabled them to expand their capacity to present theater through extended play runs.

To the Light
Performance Length: 90 minutes
No Intermission
Age requirement: 18+

Harlem Stage Gatehouse
150 Convent Avenue (at West 135th Street)
New York, NY 10031
October 7 (Wednesday) at 7:30 pm and October 8 (Thursday) at 7:30 pm
Entry fee: FREE with RSVP - Click HERE to reserve!

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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney and Reid Hall are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! To sign-up to receive information about this show, click HERE.

Where to Find Beauford's Art: Bonhams

It seems that Beauford is "on the radar" in Great Britain these days!

After last week's article on Beauford at the Tate Liverpool, I'm pleased to report that one of his abstract paintings is going up for auction at Bonhams in London, Knightsbridge.

Untitled
(1961) Watercolor and mixed media on paper
65 x 50 cm (25 9/16 x 19 11/16 in)
Signed and dated, lower right
Image courtesy of Bonhams
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The auction (Sale 22806) will take place on September 22, 2015.

It is entitled:
British and European Art
Part I: Victorian & British Impressionist Art
Part II: 19th Century European, Impressionist & Modern Art

The estimated sale price for this work (Lot 207) is £1,000 - £1500 / 1400€ - 2100€.

Bonhams had the occasion to offer another Beauford Delaney painting for auction - this time, during a sale of American Art in New York in 2014:

Portrait of a Young Man
(1953) Oil on canvas
80.65 x 64.77 cm (31 3/4 x 25 1/2 in)
Signed and dated on verso
Image courtesy of Bonhams
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This portrait was shown in the Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris exhibition organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It hung there from November 21, 2004 – February 20, 2005 and was subsequently presented by the Knoxville Museum of Art (April 8 – June 25, 2005), the Greenville County Museum of Art (August 3 – October 2, 2005), and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (November 12, 2005 – January 28, 2006). A notation in the catalog for the show indicates that the subject of the portrait may be Beauford's dear friend, Larry Calcagno.

The estimated value of the painting for the auction was $12,000 - $18,000. It was "bought in" (it did not sell).

According to Emma Gordon, the art specialist at Bonhams who shared the information about these paintings, Beauford's work has been offered for sale at other auction houses in the UK, such as Christie’s South Kensington and Sotheby’s London. She hopes that his UK profile is expanding.

To learn more about the works shown above and about the September 2015 auction, contact:
Emma Gordon
Specialist - 19th Century Paintings
London, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7393 3960
Fax: +44 20 7393 3863


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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney and Reid Hall are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! To sign-up to receive information about this show, click HERE.

Beauford at the Tate Liverpool

I first heard the names "Beauford Delaney" and "Glenn Ligon" coupled when Dr. Catherine St. John, former professor at Berkeley College in New Jersey, shared with me an article that she wrote in 2004 about these artists:

Born sixty years apart, artists Beauford Delaney and Glenn Ligon communicate narratives of belonging. The immutable link that connects them is James Baldwin, the writer, whose essay "Stranger in the Village" inspired Ligon to lift words off the page and onto canvas...

- from an abstract for "A Narrative of Belonging: The Art of Beauford Delaney and Glenn Ligon"

When I learned that Tate Liverpool and Nottingham Contemporary in the United Kingdom were presenting a major exhibition curated by Ligon that was to include works by artists who have influenced him or with whom he feels an affinity, I searched eagerly for a mention of Beauford. I found an online article about the exhibition, entitled Encounters and Collisions, which cited the names of a few of the artists who would be represented in the show. Beauford's name was among them.

Upon contacting Tate Liverpool for details, I learned that two of Beauford's paintings are part of the exhibition. One is a portrait of James Baldwin and the other is an untitled abstract:

James Baldwin, c. 1955
Oil on canvasboard
24" x 18"
Collection of halley k harrisburg and Michael Rosenfeld, New York, NY
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Untitled, c. 1958
Oil on canvas
30" x 25", signed and dated
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Beauford painted both of these works during his Paris years.

What was even more exciting for me was to read Ligon's "Letter to Beauford," one of several that he wrote to exhibition participants as part of his written contribution to the catalog. This personal missive explains in simple, personal terms why he selected these two paintings from the show - the critical influence that Baldwin had in both their lives and the inspiration that he, Beauford, and Baldwin drew from jazz and blues music. Ligon comments that "the line between figuration and abstraction is always porous" in Beauford's paintings and that this has inspired "a similar fluidity" in his work. He expresses his hope that his letter isn’t "too presumptuous" and how meaningful Beauford's work is to him personally.

Ligon has also selected literary and critical texts that punctuate the images in the catalog as part of his responsibilities as curator of the show. He includes Baldwin's essay "Stranger in the Village"; an excerpt from Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney, where biographer David A. Leeming recounts the story of how he met Beauford; and a scholarly essay called Voices/Forces by Fred Moten, which explores the idea of a black avant-garde through a "trip to Paris" that focuses on the life and work of Beauford, jazz composer and musician Billy Strayhorn, and French dramatist and theater director, Antonin Artaud.

Beauford's portrait of James Baldwin hangs in Room 4 of the exhibition at Tate Liverpool; his abstract hangs in Room 3.

Glenn Ligon: Encounters and Collisions at Tate Liverpool
until 18 October 2015
© Tate Liverpool, Roger Sinek
Tickets for Glenn Ligon: Encounters and Collisions are priced at £10.00 (£7.50 concessions, £5 student ticket). Includes entrance into Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots (also open through October 18, 2015).

To book your tickets in advance, book online at www.tate.org.uk/tickets, call 0151 702 7400 (booking fee applies), or book in person at any Tate gallery.

Tate Liverpool
Albert Dock
Liverpool L3 4BB

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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney and Reid Hall are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! To sign-up to receive information about this show, click HERE.

More Beauford Delaney Portraits

As we continue to organize the February 2016 exhibition of Paris-sourced Beauford Delaney works at Reid Hall, I find myself marveling at the number of donors we have found and the wide variety of paintings from which we will be able to select to mount what will be a major show. The abstract works far outnumber the portraits, but there are several portraits from which to choose.

Seeing these paintings inspired me to go back through the archives of this blog and other online sources to look at images of some of the numerous portraits that Beauford painted during his lifetime. I bring you images of several of them in today's post.

Portrait of a Young Man
(ca. 1937-1940) Color pastel crayons
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Portrait
(1946) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Portrait of Henri Chahine
(ca. 1960-1969) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

No 6 Portrait, JFK
(1966) Pastel
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Arlan Iverson
(1972) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
To see images of Beauford's self-portraits and his portraits of James Baldwin on this blog, click on the links below:

Beauford's Portraits of James Baldwin - Part 1
Beauford's Portraits of James Baldwin - Part 2
You've Got the Eye
Beauford's Self-portrait on the Cover of JAMA

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Les Amis de Beauford Delaney and Reid Hall are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! To sign-up to receive information about this show, click HERE.