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.