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.