Beauford Potpourri

By receiving Google Alerts about Beauford and messages from persons interested in his life and work, I am able to collect tidbits of information and references to him that add to the growing data base about him. Below are links to some of these references.

The Ubuntu Biography Project - Beauford Delaney

Portrait of Beauford Delaney
(ca. 1950)
Possibly by Gjon Mili
The Ubuntu Biography Project was created by Stephen A. Maglott (1953-2016) to publish biographical tributes to distinguished LGBTQ/SGL people of color/African descent.

Les Amis De Beauford Delaney: Beauford's Paris: Saint Anne's Throughout Paris Benches

This Web page displays a large image of two women sitting on a bench at Saint Anne's Hospital, the place where Beauford spent the last four years of his life.

Beauford Delaney Timeline

David Wright, an undergraduate student at the University of Tennessee Knoxville who won a Paul Pinckney Award from UTK's Department of History this April, has created a timeline of Beauford's life. It includes multiple images of Beauford's work and even mentions the Les Amis blog!

Beauford Delaney and Ted Joans

Art historian and curator Karima Boudou has written a fascinating article about poet / artist Ted Joans and Beauford. It includes a beautiful photo of Joans and a fragile-appearing Beauford in Beauford's rue Vercingétorix studio, taken in 1975.

AZ Quotes

AZ Quotes has created an infographic using a Beauford Delaney quote and one of Beauford's self-portraits*.

The pastel, watercolor, and charcoal on paper self-portrait was painted at Yaddo in 1950.

*Self-portrait, Yaddo
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Teaching Social Studies Using Beauford's Art

I recently came across a lesson plan for 5th grade students in Knox County Schools* that teaches the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance through having students create self-portraits inspired by Beauford's self-portraits.

Students participating in this lesson had been previously introduced to the Harlem Renaissance and Beauford's artwork. In this lesson, they were instructed to use pencils and colored pencils "to create simple self-portraits that show symmetry and personality through exaggerated features....This self-portrait can reflect personality, in the style of Beauford Delaney, by drawing facial features of different sizes and with exaggerated emphasis." The students used colored pencils to "map out" areas in their portraits where they would apply paint in a subsequent lesson.

Here are some examples of Beauford's self-portraiture, which illustrate the exaggerated features that the lesson plan asks the students to emulate.

Self-portrait
(1944) Oil on canvas
Art Institute of Chicago
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Self-portrait
(1972) Gouache on paper
Collection of David Leeming
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Auto-portrait
(1965) Oil on canvas
Whitney Museum of American Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This lesson is described as "a cross-curricular art project featuring 5th grade Social Studies standards..." It is a wonderful example of arts integration!

*Knox County Schools is the school district that operates all public schools in Knox County, Tennessee. It is headquartered in Beauford's hometown of Knoxville.

Yellow is for Summer

Beauford's yellow abstractions remind me of the warmth and sunshine of summer.

Today I'm sharing images of several of my favorites in celebration of the season!

Soullis Toucas
(Beauford's gift to Roy Freeman)
Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald
(1968) Oil on canvas
Permanent collection of the SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah
Gift of Dr. Walter O. and Mrs. Linda J. Evans
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Composition 16
(1954-56) Oil on canvas
Private Collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York , NY

Untitled (Rainbow Abstraction)
(1962) Watercolor and gouache on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Photo courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries

Untitled
(not dated) Oil on canvas
Signed on rear of painting
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Untitled (Abstraction I)
(ca. 1960) Oil on prepared fabric
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
We're going to post on a more relaxed schedule over the next several weeks so we can take some time to rest in anticipation of the fall. Be sure to continue to check in here so you can enjoy the latest articles about Beauford's life and art.

Enjoy your summer vacation!