Les Amis de Beauford Delaney is supporting the completion of

BEAUFORD DELANEY: SO SPLENDID A JOURNEY,

the first full-length documentary about Beauford.


Join us in making this video tribute to Beauford a reality!

TO MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION,

CLICK HERE.



Saturday, August 29, 2020

Atlas Obscura Features Beauford's Grave - What's Next?

Atlas Obscura published a wonderful article about Beauford's gravesite on August 21, 2020:

Grave of Beauford Delaney

Serendipitously, the publication coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the laying of Beauford's tombstone. I went to Thiais Cemetery to check on the finishing touches for the stone on August 18, 2010 and took several photos to document the completion of the work.

One of these is presented in the Atlas Obscura article.

Portrait of Beauford Delaney on the tombstone at Thiais Cemetery
(ca. 1950)
Possibly by Gjon Mili

"Grave of Beauford Delaney" pays particular attention to the role that Sue Canterbury plays in the story of the stone. Currently The Pauline Gill Sullivan Associate Curator of American Art at the Dallas Museum of Art, Canterbury was a curator at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts when she granted Les Amis a two-part interview about the ArtsMIA exhibition called From New York to Paris that we published as "Anatomy of an Art Exhibition":

Anatomy of an Art Exhibition - Part 1

Anatomy of an Art Exhibition - Part 2


The Atlas Obscura article also mentions Zachary Miller's filming of the gravesite ceremony for posterity.

Zachary Miller filming graveside ceremony
(2010) Franz Fox Kennedy

Miller is now producing the full-length documentary entitled Beauford Delaney: So Splendid a Journey, the trailer for which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019.

When Les Amis was founded in 2009, we set out to achieve four goals:

1) Placement and maintenance of a tombstone for the grave of painter Beauford Delaney, who is buried at the Parisian Cemetery of Thiais.

2) Payment of the renewal fees for his grave.

3) Organization of commemorative or educational events in his honor.

4) Inform the press and the media of his life and accomplishments.

The Knoxville, TN chapter of The Links, Incorporated generously donated funds to cover the next ten years of maintenance on Beauford's tombstone. This gift fulfills Goal 1 for the next several years.

The Paris Cemetery system placed Beauford's grave on its "celebrity list" in 2014, eliminating the need to pay for renewal fees for his grave. This fulfills Goal 2.

Goals 3 and 4 are ongoing!

The Atlas Obscura article represents our latest accomplishment regarding informing the press and media of Beauford's life and accomplishments (Goal 4).

For Goal 3, our most important work at present is the production of Beauford Delaney: So Splendid a Journey and the screening of this documentary at film festivals and local theaters in the U.S. and Europe. We are part of the IFP (Independent Filmmaker Project) Fiscal Sponsorship program for 2020 and US dollar donations for the film are tax deductible.

Watch the trailer (and give to support the project if you desire) here:

Beauford Delaney: So Splendid a Journey

We're looking forward to another ten years of shining glorious light on Beauford's story and his œuvre!

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