50 Years Ago - Beauford's Abstracts

Last week, I brought you a post about the difficulties Beauford had during the year 1970 and showed images of several portraits he produced that year.

50 Years Ago - Beauford's Portraits

Despite his troubles, Beauford had several successes in 1970. Among them was his participation in a group exhibition called Afro-American Artists Abroad, which was shown at the National Center of Afro-American Artists in Dorchester, Massachusetts and the University of Texas Art Museum in Austin, TX. 

The images of several 1970 abstract works that I'm presenting today call to mind a statement written about Beauford's œuvre for the exhibition catalog by art professor James Lewis: 

"Radiates the joy of an artist with one concern, the challenging joy of painting."

Untitled
(1970) Gouache
© Artistes sans Frontières/Douglas Petrovic, 2004
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Untitled
(1970) Gouache
© Artistes sans Frontières/Douglas Petrovic, 2004
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Untitled
(1970) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Photo courtesy of Robert Tricoire

Untitled
(1970) Mixed media on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Untitled
(1970) Mixed media on cardboard
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,

Untitled
(circa 1970) Oil on canvas
Collection Walker Art Center
Gift of the Kunin Family, 2014
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Untitled, 1970Oil on canvas, 65 x 54 cm.
© Christie's Images, 2013© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

50 Years Ago - Beauford's Portraits

1970 was a difficult year for Beauford. 

Elsa Honig Fine of the University of Tennessee invited him and his brother Joseph to do a joint exhibition of works at the McClung Museum Gallery there, but the prospect was too much for his fragile physical and mental health. 

Though he agreed to participate in the show during his Christmas holiday visit to Knoxville in 1969, he avoided communicating about the event for months - ignoring requests for shipping and travel dates as well as information about the works he would display. 

It was only during the summer of 1970 that he finally admitted he would not contribute to the exhibition, which became a solo show for Joseph Delaney. 

And yet, Beauford produced numerous paintings and works on paper in 1970 - including a striking self-portrait. Here are images of several of them. 

 

Portrait of a Young Musician  (1970) Acrylic on canvas © Estate of Beauford Delaney by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator Studio Museum in Harlem; Gift of Ms. Ogust Delaney Stewart, Knoxville, TN 2004.2.27 Photo: Marc Bernier

Portrait of Vasilli Pikoula
(1970) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Portrait de la Voisine
(1970) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Self-portrait

(1970) Gouache on paper

Collection of David Leeming

© Estate of Beauford Delaney by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator 

Next week: "50 Years Ago - Beauford's Abstracts"

Sold!

Both Beauford Delaney paintings that were offered at Phillips' December 8, 2020 morning sale of 20th-century modern and contemporary art sold at handsome prices. 

The estimated sale price for the 1964 self-portrait shown below (Lot 193) was $30,000 - $40,000. 

Self-portrait
(1964) oil on canvas
Signed, inscribed and dated "BEAUFORD DELANEY, PARIS 1964" on the reverse
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

 

It sold for $315,000.  

 

Street Scene (Lot 107) was estimated to sell for $120,000 - $180,000.

Street Scene
(1968) Oil on canvas
Signed and dated "BEAUFORD DELANEY 1968" lower right
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator 

 

The actual sale price was $478,800.

 

Prices indicated include at 26% buyer's premium.

Beauford Delaney: Transcending Race and Time

The University of Tennessee (UT) Downtown Gallery is hosting an exhibition of a selection of paintings and drawings on loan from the Estate of Beauford Delaney.  The First Friday opening was held on December 4, 2020.

Beauford Delaney: Transcending Race and Time is an exhibition of twenty-one works that includes four oil on canvas paintings, abstract watercolors, pastel portraits, and three self-portraits. Some of the pieces in this show have never been exhibited publicly.

 Self-portrait, 1953
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

The self-portrait selected to advertise the exhibition is dated 1953, the year that Beauford moved to Paris. It is similar to two self-portraits, a crayon on newsprint dated 1962 and a charcoal and pastel on newsprint dated 1963, from the Knoxville Museum of Art collection that was shown at the museum's Gathering Light exhibition in 2017.

Here are several views of the exhibition, provided by Beauford's estate.

Transcending Race and Time - Views of the exhibition
Images courtesy of the Estate of Beauford Delaney
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

The estate's last public showing of Beauford's work was held during the "In a Speculative Light" symposium organized by Dr. Amy Elias, Director of the UT Humanities Center in February 2020.  That exhibition was held in the Student Union Art Gallery on UT's campus.

The Downtown Gallery is a contemporary art gallery exhibiting professional work through funding and support from The University of Tennessee.

• Exhibition dates: December 5, 2020 to January 30, 2021
• Hours: Wednesday - Friday 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM and Saturday 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Price: Free
• Contact Name:  Mike Berry
• Contact Email:
• Location: UT Downtown Gallery
  106 S. Gay Street
  Knoxville, TN 37902
  (865) 673-0802
  

The UT Downtown Gallery will be closed December 24, 25, 26, 31, and January 1.

 

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!

Les Amis is off for the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday.

I hope you and your loved ones are able to be together in spirit, if not in body, and that you're enjoying the weekend!

Untitled
(1961) Watercolor on paper
Signed twice, dated 61 twice and variously inscribed
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator 

Look. Look Again: - A Remarkable Online Exhibition

A few days ago, Andrew Schoelkopf of Menconi + Schoelkopf, a fine art gallery in NYC, contacted me to inform me about a magnificent online exhibition of Beauford's work that is being presented by the gallery through December 6, 2020. 

 Look. Look Again: Beauford Delaney's Intimate Discoveries showcases a small, incredibly vibrant collection of works on paper dating from 1958-1969. 

Two of the images in the exhibition immediately brought to mind a work that I featured in a 2019 post called "Capturing the Shock of Life."

Untitled (Abstract composition)
 (1958) Oil on wove paper
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

The document that accompanies Look. Look Again: describes Beauford's "construction" of abstract works created during his Clamart period (1956-1962) and refers to them as being suggestive of the cosmos.  

It also quotes curator Sue Canterbury's reference to Beauford's interest in sunspots in her catalog for the Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris exhibition that she mounted at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 2004.  Canterbury notes that Beauford exhibited a work called Cosmos at the Roko Gallery in NYC in 1952.

The oil on paper shown above and the two similar works in the Look. Look Again: exhibition definitely evoke the cosmos for me. 

Find the Menconi + Schoelkopf online exhibition here: Look. Look Again: Beauford Delaney's Intimate Discoveries

To Be Sold

At its December 8, 2020 morning sale of 20th-century modern and contemporary art, Phillips is offering two of Beauford's works as part of its sale of the Royall Collection of Black Contemporary Artists. 

The 1964 self-portrait shown below is one of at least three done by Beauford that year.

Self-portrait
(1964) oil on canvas
Signed, inscribed and dated "BEAUFORD DELANEY, PARIS 1964" on the reverse
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

It was once part of the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and is now in a private collection.

 

The estimated sale price is $30,000 - $40,000.  

 

Street Scene is a vivid example of Beauford's use of the color "yellow."

Street Scene
(1968) Oil on canvas
Signed and dated "BEAUFORD DELANEY 1968" lower right
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator 

 

The estimated sale price for this work is $120,000 - $180,000.

 

Phillips will sell the Royall Collection works on December 7, 2020.

Sothebys in NYC listed a lyrical Beauford Delaney watercolor on paper for sale during its Contemporary Art Day Auction Online on November 18, 2020.

Untitled
Lot 275
(1961) Watercolor on paper
Signed twice, dated 61 twice and variously inscribed
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator 

Because of the inscription "San Telmo Mallorca" at the lower left, we can surmise that Beauford painted this while visiting Spain with his friends the O'Reillys and the Boggses after his suicide attempts in Greece earlier in the summer. 

The lot was withdrawn from sale.

A View on Self-portraiture

The Michael Rosenfeld Gallery has just published an online exhibition entitled Facing Self: The Artist Revealed. The curator has included what is perhaps Beauford's most enigmatic self-portrait in this exhibition.

 

Beauford Delaney (1901-1979)

Self Portrait, 1962

oil on canvas

25 1/2" x 21 1/4" x 3/4", signed 

© Estate of Beauford Delaney; Private Collection

Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC,  New York , NY

The introduction to the exhibition consists of an extensive quote by artist Pat Steir, which, to me, perfectly describes Beauford's journey through self-portraiture. Here are a couple of excerpts of that quote:

Say you draw a picture of your own face. It takes an enormous amount of abstract thinking to get your hand to do what you want it to do. And the result is a visual abstraction made from the tangible reality of your face. So there is a great deal of abstraction involved in that self-image.

All art is figurative, in a certain way. . . But every figure of the self is a disguise. Everything humans make is an attempt to make a mirror. The face in a painting is a mask. It covers a reality that is ultimately ungraspable. . .

With these thoughts in mind, I'm re-posting images of a few of Beauford's self-portraits—including one that will soon be available for purchase at auction. (I'll post more on this next week.)

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

Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color
Catalog cover

Self-portrait
(1964) Oil on canvas
Royall Collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Beauford at Phillips Auction House

Two Beauford Delaney works from the Royall Collection will be offered at auction during Phillips' December 7, 2020 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale.

The late William Royall and his wife, accumulated numerous works by African American artists, including Amy Sherald and Mickalene Thomas. Thirty-three (33) pieces from their collection will be auctioned next month.

I plan to publish images and details about the Beauford Delaney works for sale in a future blog post.

Today, I'm (re)sharing images of works by Beauford that Phillips has sold in the past. Just two years ago, they offered three of Beauford's abstracts - two oils and one gouache on paper - for purchase at two auctions.

In the 26 September 2018 sale, the gouache on paper sold for $15,000 (highest estimated price - $12,000).

Untitled
Signed, inscribed and dated "Beauford Delaney Mallorca 1961" lower right
(1961) gouache on paper
25 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. (64.8 x 49.5 cm.)
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

The yellow oil painting sold for $150,000 (highest estimated price - $30,000).

Untitled
Signed, inscribed and dated "Beauford Delaney Paris 1965 midday" on the reverse
(1965) Oil on canvas
25 1/2 x 21 in. (64.8 x 53.3 cm.)
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

In the 14 November 2018 sale, a second yellow oil painting sold for $118,750 (highest estimated price - $30,000).

Untitled
(1967) Oil on canvas
21 3/4 x 18 in. (55.2 x 45.7 cm.)
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Stay tuned for further news about the 7 December 2020 sale.

Beauford on the Web

Today I'm sharing links to three Internet articles / posts about Beauford that I think you'll enjoy. Click on the links at the end of the brief descriptions below to access the articles.

Oh Freedom! Beauford Delaney

"Oh Freedom!" is "an interdisciplinary resource that helps K–12 teachers and students discover the history, influence, and legacy of the Civil Rights movement by exploring more than three dozen artworks from the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture." The Smithsonian has included Beauford's Can Fire in the Park in the group of works it is using to teach African-American Civil Rights through American Art.

Oh Freedom! Beauford Delaney

Can Fire in the Park
(1946) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Beauford Delaney

HiSoUR is a nonprofit Web platform for art enthusiasts, whose vision is "Bringing art to life by making people think, feel and be inspired. creating unforgettable art experiences for all, while inspiring positive change locally." It presents clear and succinct review of Beauford's life, using his Can Fire in the Park to illustrate the essay (which is without punctuation).

Beauford Delaney

Covid-19 delays long-planned documentary on Black Abstract Expressionist painter Beauford Delaney

Freelance writer Karen Chernick recently published an article about Beauford's gravesite in Atlas Obscura. Inspired by the conversations we had as part of her research, she decided to write this piece about the full-length documentary, So Splendid a Journey, for which the COVID-19 pandemic is contributing to delayed production.

Covid-19 delays long-planned documentary on Black Abstract Expressionist painter Beauford Delaney

If you'd like to give to support So Splendid a Journey, click on the link beneath the image below.

Beauford Delaney: So Splendid a Journey

Hidden Paris: Beauford Delaney

Hidden Paris is a podcast for all lovers and residents of Paris, hosted by British/American expat (reared in Ireland, Italy and the US!) Mariamne Everett. Mariamne learned about the work I do at Entrée to Black Paris and asked me to do a four-part interview on various topics pertaining to African diaspora history, culture, and contemporary life in Paris. 

Of course, I couldn't do such an interview series without devoting one of them to Beauford! Click on the link beneath the Hidden Paris logo to listen:

Black Paris: Beauford Delaney
(48:27 minutes)

Mariamne posted images of several of my favorite Beauford Delaney works on Hidden Paris' Instagram account. 

See them below.

Auto-portrait
(1965) Oil on canvas
Whitney Museum, New York
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Composition 16
(1954-1956) Oil on canvas
Museum of Modern Art, New York
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

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

Untitled
(1959) Oil on canvas
Mint Museum, Charlotte
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Sylvia Peters Talks about Beauford

Sylvia Peters is a force of nature. 

I first met her in 2016, when she and 10 other persons from Knoxville, Tennessee descended on Paris to attend the opening of Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color, the solo exhibition of 40+ paintings and works on paper from Beauford's Paris years that was mounted by the Wells International Foundation.

Sylvia Peters "Blipps" a painting at
Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color

Since that time, she has gone on to launch Gathering Light: The Delaney Project in Knoxville. She describes the project as "a grassroots effort in Knoxville, TN that was started to bring Beauford's international endeavors and art back home to Knoxville, TN - his birthplace." Alongside an impressive list of local organizations, she is working tirelessly to preserve and promote Beauford's legacy in Knoxville. 

Peters contributed a post entitled "A Toast to the Arts" to the Les Amis blog, which describes a partnership between The Knoxville (TN) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated and the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) to celebrate the acquisition and unveiling of works by Beauford.

Jan and Sylvia Peters
Image courtesy of Sylvia Peters

Les Amis has published additional articles about projects she has spearheaded in Knoxville, such as the "Bringing Beauford Delaney Home" project at West View Elementary School and the installation of an historical marker in honor of Beauford and his brother, Joseph.  We published several posts in January and February 2020 to chronicle the line-up of events that celebrated Beauford during Black History Month.  We support her ultimate goal to establish a Center of Excellence that honors Beauford in Knoxville and Paris.

Peter is quoted extensively in an article called "Oil on the Water: Light Reflections on Baldwin and Delaney," which was written by D. Amari Jackson and published on the Black Art in America Website.

About midway through Jackson's article, Peters is quoted as saying: “Beauford’s paintings look like they were made last week, not 60 and 70 years ago. They’re just brilliant, they’re that vibrant." When you stand in front of Beauford's work, you see exactly what she means. 

(If you have the good fortune of being in Knoxville and if you haven't already seen Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin: Through the Unusual Door at the Knoxville Museum of Art, make haste! The show closes on October 25, 2020.)

 Signage at Knoxville Museum of Art
© Les Amis de Beauford Delaney

 

Autumn Colors

Autumn has arrived - at least in Paris!

Today, I'm sharing images of works by Beauford that make me think of - and feel the beauty of - this season.

Composition, 1964
(1964) Gouache
Signed and dated at bottom right
55 x 37 cm
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Untitled
Mixed media on canvas
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Untitled (Yellow Abstraction)
(c. 1958-1959) Oil on paper, laid down on canvas
Image courtesy of Aaron Galleries
© 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

Untitled
(1962) Watercolor and gouache on paper
© Christie's Images
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Beauford in Myth of a Colorblind France

Myth of a Colorblind France is a full-length documentary that investigates the reasons behind the notion that France is a colorblind society. It explores the lives and careers of renowned African Americans who emigrated to Paris, including numerous visual artists. Among them are Barbara Chase-Riboud, Augusta Savage, and Lois Mailou Jones, and Henry Ossawa Tanner. Rare video footage of Tanner strolling in Paris with his relatives is a special treat.

Beauford is included in the roster of artists whose stories are featured in the documentary. Commentary about him is delivered by illustrator Gregory Masurovsky. He gets almost a minute of coverage, during which you can see images of sixteen of his works. Many of these, including the paintings represented below, were shown at Through the Unusual Door, the Knoxville Museum of Art's brilliant monographic exhibition that will close on October 25, 2020.

Dark Rapture
(1941) Oil on masonite
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Auto-portrait
(1965) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Self-Portrait
(1962) oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York , NY
One of the gems presented in the documentary is this photo of scholar Michel Fabre in Beauford's studio:

Michel Fabre in Beauford's studio
Image used with the permission of Pierre Fabre
Though one might think that Fabre sat for the portrait shown behind him, the subject of the painting is actually Colin Gravois.

Beauford gifted Fabre with a small work on paper entitled Man in African Dress. This was shown in the Beauford Delaney: The Color Yellow exhibition mounted by the High Museum in Atlanta in 2002-2003 and at the 2016 Paris Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition mounted by the Wells International Foundation.

To purchasing tickets for viewing Myth of a Colorblind France, click here: https://watch.firstrunfeatures.com/products/myth-of-a-colorblind-france-at-first-run-features