On July 24, Case Antiques placed an "unusual" Beauford Delaney painting up for auction.

Lot 178
Untitled
(c. 1972) Oil on canvas
63 3/4 x 51 1/4 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

The estimated sale price was $60,000-$70,000.

On Monday evening, July 26, Sarah Campbell Drury, Vice President of Fine and Decorative Arts at Case, contacted me to tell me that the painting sold for a whopping $348,000!

Case's press release describes the work as "a rhythmic abstract oil on canvas" that is "a bit of departure from the modernist urban scenes and atmospheric abstractions which typically define Delaney’s work."

On the sales page for the painting, Case posted an image of Beauford's niece, Ogust Delaney Stewart, sitting in the storage facility in which the painting had been stored. The painting can be seen at the right side of the image.

Image courtesy of Stephen Wicks
Barbara W. and Bernard E. Bernstein Curator of the
Knoxville Museum of Art

Multiple phone and internet bidders competed for the abstract, with the hammer eventually falling to an anonymous phone bidder. The sales price includes a 20% buyer's premium and applicable taxes and fees.

The painting resembles an abstract acquired by San Francisco MoMA last year.

Untitled
(1974) Oil on canvas
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
63 3/4 x 51 1/4 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Beauford's African Motif

This month, France is wrapping up a pan-African and multidisciplinary project called Africa2020, which focuses on innovation in the arts, sciences, technology, entrepreneurship and the economy. 

In thinking about innovation, the arts, and Africa, I thought about Beauford's many works that were inspired by the continent throughout the years. I share images of a few of them below. 

 

Untitled

(c. 1945) Oil on masonite

Art for invitation card for the 1994 Philippe Briet retrospective entitled

Beauford Delaney: The New York Years

© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esq.,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Sylvain Briet

 

Untitled (Fang, Crow and Fruit)
(1945) Oil on canvas
Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn, NY
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esq.,
Court Appointed Administrator

 

Untitled (African Figure)
(c. 1968) Oil monoprint on paper
Knoxville Museum of Art
Knoxville, TN
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

 

 Self-portrait in a Paris Bath House
(1971) Oil on canvas
Knoxville Museum of Art
Knoxville, TN
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

 

Man in African Dress
(c. 1972) 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

Case Antiques to Auction Beauford Delaney Painting on July 24

Case Antiques is placing an "unusual" Beauford Delaney painting up for auction on July 24.

Lot 178
Untitled
(c. 1972) Oil on canvas
63 3/4 x 51 1/4 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

The estimated sale price is $60,000-$70,000.

Case's presentation of this work mentions its similarity to an abstract acquired by San Francisco MoMA last year.

Untitled
(1974) Oil on canvas
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
63 3/4 x 51 1/4 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Pre-approval is required to bid on this lot. Contact Case Antiques, Inc. for details at 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM.

Musing with a Master Abstract Expressionist - Part 2

In Part 1 of this article, I presented images of three Beauford-inspired paintings created by Osiris Munir, President/CEO of Ankh Entertainment, host of the 15 Minutes interview series, and visual artist.  Based on an interview with her, I began to explore the similarities between her life and that of Beauford.

Part 2 looks at more of these similarities and share her musings about the conversation she'd like to have with Beauford.

TRAVEL

Beauford traveled extensively in France and in Europe, often through invitations by friends. As often as possible, he painted wherever he went.

Untitled (Istanbul, Turkey)
(1966) Oil on thick, cream wove paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Munir enjoys traveling as well:

One of the similarities in the life of myself and Beauford Delaney’s is our love of travel and living outside of a box. I traveled and lived in Europe for a year. When I found out about the St. Germain district of Paris, I lost it. It seemed far more interesting and engaged than anything I had experienced in the U.S. The experience left me longing for deeper engagement with international culture and cultural activities and lifestyle outside the U.S.

APPRECIATION OF COLOR

In his New York Times obituary on Beauford, C. Gerald Fraser quotes NYT art critic John Russell, who said that Beauford was an “uninhibited colorist (though never an unintelligent one).” Biographer David Leeming refers to Beauford's primary interest in light and color many times in Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney.

Munir speaks eloquently about her interpretation of the "muted" colors of The Three Are One and certain works by Beauford:

Orange is the color of the Sun - it offers hope and sheds light on untruths so that truth may be seen and lies may be exposed. Raw umber is an earth color - Giving a sense of belonging to something greater than myself and living a grounded and organic lifestyle as close to natural as possible. It is the darkness that hides beneath a smile or behind teeth that laugh. White for me is the clarity in thought and vision one gains after hours of looking deeply into a web of shapes, designs, and patterns . . . the visions that come and go as quickly as they came . . . the pain experienced when trying to fit into a world that is unwilling to allow you to just be.

Untitled (Yellow Abstraction) - detail
(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

The Three Are One - detail of one of three paintings
Osiris Munir
(2021) Oil on paperboard

WRITING

Beauford journaled extensively about his harshly critical inner voices and his use of art to appease them, to silence them, and finally, to represent them on canvas as one would a person sitting for a portrait.

The Eye
(1965) Oil on canvas
Private Collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

He often shared feelings of loneliness and frustration in letters to his closest friends.

Through her book entitled Nita, Munir "painstakingly deals with topics of the human soul such as anger, forgiveness, loneliness, fear, depression, and mental health."

LACK OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES

Beauford was often without sufficient funds to pay for the paints and other supplies that would allow him to work and keep his inner voices at bay.  Because of this, and because had a propensity to give money away when he did have it, his friends would buy him canvases and other art supplies so he could continue to work. The story of his "raincoat painting," which he created by painting on an old raincoat that he cut up and used for canvas, is well known.

Untitled (raincoat painting) by Beauford Delaney - recto and verso
(1954) Oil on raincoat fragment
Photos courtesy of Sue Canterbury
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Munir recounts a similar experience:

I use brick paperboard for lack of having all of what I need . . . I never have additional money to buy great canvas, brushes and paints to use.  They are either given to me or I have to overlook an important bill to buy what I need instead.  Occasionally, I am able to get extra money to buy supplies to use for my one-room studio.

**********

When asked what she would discuss with Beauford if she were able to sit down with him today, Munir responded:

If I could sit down with Beauford Delaney in 2021, we would talk about his being born too early and being prepared to fight for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ and the freedom for all people.

We would laugh about how the movement of the African aka Black American to free himself of slave mentality and to release the pain of the past and move towards the future without fear and how long and hard the journey has been and how much further we may or may not have to go. How slavery and the stigma of color and may never end but certainly has garnered global attention.

We would talk about politics and how it affects the life of the artist. How he is a muse and comfort to many. What he thought about European’s perspective on abstract art and its many forms of expression. How none are free until all are free.

We would talk about James Baldwin and his brilliance and how the two of them were ahead of their time.

We would talk about drug laws and whether they help or hurt us. We would talk about art. Colors. Sounds and feelings. I would ask what he thought of the philosophy of Bruce Lee.

We would talk about pain and suffering and how it makes for the brilliance and shine others see in us.

Musing with a Master Abstract Expressionist - Part 1

Osiris Munir is President/CEO of Ankh Entertainment and host of the 15 Minutes interview series. She is also a visual artist.

Munir learned about Beauford through various contacts with me. Inspired by his work, she recently created three previously unseen abstract works and shared images of them with the Wells International Foundation and Les Amis de Beauford Delaney. She calls them The Three Are One.

The Three Are One
Osiris Munir
(2021) Oil on paperboard

They call to my mind Beauford's Untitled (Yellow Abstraction), shown below.

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

Prior to a series of challenging life events that led her to the investigation of intuitive abstract art, Munir:

. . . hated art and thought it a rip off of one’s time and money. I knew nothing of Pollock, Hofmann, Kandinsky, Rothko, Krasner, Monet, Picasso, and Georgia O’Keefe until a neighbor turned me onto Bob Ross. I began watching YouTube study channels. . . . 

I did not hear of Beauford until the introduction and the telling of his story by Monique Wells, founder of the Wells International Foundation. Of course, I was fascinated. Until then I knew nothing of abstract art outside of the aforementioned. Monique told me of her search for his grave and how it was without a head stone ... how he died in a mental institute in Paris.

As a veteran diagnosed with a variety of mental disorders, Munir readily understands and resonates with the suffering of the mentally disturbed. She finds art to be a great tool and channel for releasing an abundance of creative energy. Simultaneously and intrinsically drawn to Beauford's life and work, she describes his work (and her own) as being purposeful and intentional. She says that Beauford seemed to take obscure thoughts that were disconnected in some ways and harmonized them in arrays of colorful expression.

To create The Three Are One, Munir used oil on brick paperboard. This was inspired by Beauford's Burning Bush, which is currently held at the Newark Art Museum. She loves the texture of oil:

It seems to find its way through my fingers into my hands and onto a canvas, brick, or piece of wood. It looks like velvet when applied to a primed canvas. It looks elegant and rich to me. It calls me and speaks to me from a place that is unexplainable. Oil seems to have the property and gift of manifestation for me. It seems to move with my eyes and fingers ... [Using it makes me feel] like another entity outside of myself is painting, not me.

Munir chose the colors for these works based on Tarot cards by Madame Marie Laveau of New Orleans, which she says are similar to colors used by Beauford and others of that time. She offered the following comment about this:

Some of his (Beauford's) pieces use muted colors wherein they seem flat until you take a closer look. After looking closer at these pieces, the feeling and sense of how each color moves on paper and canvas carries a certain exposure of light.

Next week: Osiris Munir talks in depth about similarities between her life and Beauford's, and muses about the conversation she'd have with him if they could sit down together today.