Bernard Hassell was one of James Baldwin's closest friends. He eventually became one of Beauford's closest friends as well, and cared for Beauford when Beauford was physically ill or mentally fragile. The French government named him one of the trustees of Beauford's affairs when Beauford was committed to Sainte-Anne's Hospital in 1975.
Today, I'm sharing images of three of Beauford's Bernard Hassell portraits.
Bernard Hassell
(Undated) Oil on canvas
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Portrait of Bernard Hassell
(1968) Gouache on paper
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Bernard Hassell
(ca. 1971) Oil on canvas
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The undated portrait may have been painted in 1966. Biographer David Leeming notes that when he stayed with Beauford prior to driving him to Istanbul for a visit with James Baldwin, Beauford showed him "an amazing profusion of yellow abstractions intermingled with extraordinary portraits whom the painter identified as Walter Anderson, James Baldwin, Bernard Hassell, and many others."
This portrait of Bernard Hassell was shown in the Beauford Delaney: A Retrospective [50 Years of Light] exhibition at the Philippe Briet Gallery in New York in February - March 1991.
In June 1968, Hassell took Beauford to the south of France after finding him wandering the streets in confusion after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leeming indicates that they stayed in three places over a period of six weeks, including a "castle" in Avignon. In the 1968 portrait of Hassell, pPerhaps Beauford is portraying him in the image of this or another building in which they resided during this extended trip.
The inscription in this portrait seems to indicate "Sadagne France." This may be a reference to the town of Châteauneuf de Gadagne, which is not far from Avignon.
In 1971, Beauford once again suffered serious psychological trauma upon learning of the death of his nephew, Sam (Junior). Biographer Leeming describes him as going into "several weeks of steep decline" as a result. James Baldwin learned of Beauford's condition and had him brought to Baldwin's new home in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, where Hassell had taken up residence in the gatehouse.
Today, I'm sharing images of three of Beauford's Bernard Hassell portraits.
(Undated) Oil on canvas
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1968) Gouache on paper
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(ca. 1971) Oil on canvas
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The undated portrait may have been painted in 1966. Biographer David Leeming notes that when he stayed with Beauford prior to driving him to Istanbul for a visit with James Baldwin, Beauford showed him "an amazing profusion of yellow abstractions intermingled with extraordinary portraits whom the painter identified as Walter Anderson, James Baldwin, Bernard Hassell, and many others."
This portrait of Bernard Hassell was shown in the Beauford Delaney: A Retrospective [50 Years of Light] exhibition at the Philippe Briet Gallery in New York in February - March 1991.
In June 1968, Hassell took Beauford to the south of France after finding him wandering the streets in confusion after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leeming indicates that they stayed in three places over a period of six weeks, including a "castle" in Avignon. In the 1968 portrait of Hassell, pPerhaps Beauford is portraying him in the image of this or another building in which they resided during this extended trip.
The inscription in this portrait seems to indicate "Sadagne France." This may be a reference to the town of Châteauneuf de Gadagne, which is not far from Avignon.
In 1971, Beauford once again suffered serious psychological trauma upon learning of the death of his nephew, Sam (Junior). Biographer Leeming describes him as going into "several weeks of steep decline" as a result. James Baldwin learned of Beauford's condition and had him brought to Baldwin's new home in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, where Hassell had taken up residence in the gatehouse.
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