Lucy Blue wrote to me last December to inquire about donating to support the making of the video documentary about Beauford called So Splendid a Journey. In her message, she mentioned that she met Beauford in Paris years ago and said that he's been a part of her heart ever since.
She also shared a photo of a drawing that she did of Beauford when she and her friend, painter Clarence Hagins, visited Paris in 1973.
Lucy Carty (aka Lucy Blue)
(1973) Pencil on paper
Image courtesy of Lucy Blue
Needless to say, I was excited about this communication. Here was a woman who cared enough about Beauford to want to support the documentary AND was personally acquainted with him as well as with someone who cared for Beauford during his declining years. I extended an invitation for Lucy to share her story about the encounter she described, and she graciously consented to provide the interview below.
Les Amis: Please share a little biographical information about yourself (where you’re from, what you do, where you currently live).
LB: I was born in New York City and moved to Vermont with my family when I was two years old. I grew up in Vermont, attended Vassar College in New York State, then moved to Massachusetts, where I got a job working for the Boston Mayor’s Office of Human Rights. I met artist Clarence Hagins at Boston City Hall, as he was setting up an exhibition there. I subsequently moved to Brooklyn, New York, where I lived with Clarence for a year or so.
I worked as a United Nations staff member, launched a second career as a freelance copy editor, and served a 12-year stint as a translation project coordinator for Byron Katie International. I returned to Vermont in 2007 and retired in 2020. Since then, I have been working on a family history project. I also serve on the Board of Directors of a local food cooperative.
Les Amis: Did you / do you frequently visit Paris?
LB: I visited Paris three or four times, and it has now been many years since I’ve been there.
The first time was in 1968 when I was in college. I went on a two-week art tour to visit cathedrals all over northern France, including Notre Dame in Paris. I loved the French language and it was my first visit to Europe. Very exciting!
I made three other trips to France from 1972 through 1975. At least one of those trips--and probably two--were made with Clarence.
Les Amis: What brought you to Paris on the occasion when you met Beauford?
LB: Clarence adored, if not idolized, James Baldwin (or Jimmy, as Clarence called him). Beauford was a mentor to Jimmy. On our first trip to Paris together, Clarence very much wanted to meet both Beauford and Jimmy, and I tagged along.
Les Amis: How many times did you meet Beauford?
LB: Two or three times only, as I recall. One funny thing was that Beauford had an uncanny way of showing up when you least expected it. Two instances of this are recounted in Clarence’s journal entries.
Les Amis: How did the first meeting come about?
LB: As I mentioned, Clarence very much wanted to meet Beauford. We went together to look him up in his flat that was, I think, a 3rd floor walk-up.
Image courtesy of Lucy Blue
Les Amis: What are your memories of the visit?
LB: It was winter time, and the studio was very cold. I remember walking up the stairs and when we entered the apartment, I remember seeing Beauford sitting up in bed with a coat and hat on to keep warm. He may also have been wearing gloves. I gave him a pair of black mittens I had knitted for him.
I don’t remember many details about the first meeting, just that he was warm and welcoming to us.
Les Amis: Did you sketch Beauford during your meeting with him?
LB: I sketched him on Christmas Day 1973, while the three sat together at the Café Dôme.
Les Amis: How long did this encounter last?
LB: I’m guessing it was a good 45 minutes or so, perhaps longer, but I don’t recall exactly.
Les Amis: Who is the person in the background of the sketch?
LB: A waiter.
Les Amis: What was your first impression of Beauford?
LB: My first impression was that he was very alive and openhearted. He also had a kind of other worldly quality, hard to define, as if he were in some realm of his own. Of course, this may have been the effect of the vin rouge (red wine), or as I think about it now, a sign of his burgeoning dementia.
Still, Beauford had a very sweet and jovial spirit. As we sat at the Dôme, I recall his warning us to “Watch out for the harpies!” (referring to women).
Terrace of the Dôme Café, 1959
Photo from Cafés d’Artistes à Paris (photo credit-Archives)
Les Amis: You said that Beauford has been part of your heart ever since you met him. What did he say or do to have this effect on you?
LB: A gentle, loving kindness shone through his eyes, and he was very warm and friendly. When we met, I was struggling with some deep unresolved personal issues. Being in his presence was a kind of spiritual nourishment for me. I call it a healing, a blessing.
I invented my own etymology of the name “Beauford”, calling him a “beautiful ford” across the river of my life. I loved Beauford as one lost at sea loves the lighthouse. He helped to keep my spirit afloat all those many years ago and I’ve never forgotten it.
Les Amis: Did / does his artistic practice influence you?
LB: Beauford was like a light to Clarence and me and others, like a human fireplace you could snuggle up to and keep warm from the chill of life. I had some interest in drawing when I met him but was not an artist. Just witnessing Beauford there in Paris living his dream as best he could influenced me, however, and continues to influence me to this day. I don’t think one can separate Beauford, the friend, from Beauford, the artist. The two were so inextricably intertwined.
In terms of Beauford’s work, I am especially drawn to his portraits and other representational pieces, such as The Jazz Trio. Beauford’s work seems happy to me and lifts my spirits.
Henry Miller called Beauford “the nearest to a saint that any artist can be.” I think that saintly quality shines through his work.
Come back next week to read journal entries by Clarence Hagins shared by Lucy Blue.
