Beauford's Portrait of Mary Painter

Ever since I published the following 2012 articles about Beauford and his friendship with Mary Painter:

Beauford and Mary Painter
Beauford's Paris: Rue des Carmes,

I've been searching for a portrait that Beauford did of Painter.  Because of his proclivity for sketching and painting the people he loved, I felt strongly that he must have captured Painter's likeness on canvas.

Thanks to a recent introduction to Painter's niece, Carolyn Wells, my search may be over!

 Mary Painter (?)
(1967-69) Oil on canvas
Signed and dated lower right: Beauford Delaney 1969
Signed, dated and inscribed verso:
Beauford Delaney / 1967 / Paris / France
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery

Wells told me that the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery (MRG)* might have a portrait of her aunt, so I inquired there.  The gallery sent me the image shown above, accompanied by a document that provides the provenance and a painterly description of the work, as well as information about Painter.

MRG acquired the painting from the Beauford Delaney estate and conducted research to identify Painter as the subject.  They spoke with Wells, who told me it seems very likely that the person in the painting is Painter. 

They have a photo of Painter, contributed by Wells, that shows Painter's hair flowing over her shoulders similar to the way Beauford has depicted the woman in this painting. Wells confirms that her aunt had long red hair.

 

Mary Painter (c. 1946-47)
Photo reproduced with the permission of Carolyn Wells

The rear of the painting bears the following information on the stretcher:

Property of M et Mme Jim Legros / Chaville, France

 Verso of Mary Painter (?)
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery 

Verso of Mary Painter (?) - detail

Jim and Bunny LeGros were dear friends of Beauford, and the Les Amis blog has featured them in multiple posts over the years.  They lived in the Paris suburb of Vélizy, for which the nearest train station is Gare de Chaville-Vélizy.

Unfortunately, Beauford did not write Painter's name on this work.

*Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC is Special Advisor and Representative of the Estate of Beauford Delaney.

Gathering Strength from Sprituals

As temperatures fall in Paris and the city heads toward winter, I am reminded of Beauford's first autumn and winter in Paris in 1953. 

Biographer David Leeming writes poignantly of this time, which was particularly cold and difficult. He reports that Beauford copied the lyrics of several songs in his sketchbooks "as if to keep the critical voices at bay," and names four in particular: "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen," "Steal Away to Jesus," "In That Great Getting Up Morning," and "Fix Me Jesus."

I went online to search for recordings of these spirituals and am sharing powerful renditions of them that I believe he would have appreciated.

Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen
Performed by Mahalia Jackson

Steal Away to Jesus
Performed by the Fisk Jubilee Singers

In That Great Getting Up Morning
Performed by Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle

Fix Me Jesus
Performed by the Alvin Ailey Dancers

Maestro Beauford Delaney - A Tribute by Joel Crooms

Joel M. Crooms commented on a recent Entrée to Black Paris Facebook post about the works auctioned during Christie's "Istanbul Calling" sale as follows:

Beauford was my inspiration as a young artist studying in NYC and New Jersey during the seventies and today! The brilliance of his colors is so powerful. At that time, minimalist and color field artists were big in the NYC area, but Mr Delaney’s colors far outshine those works ... in the process greatly affecting me, exciting me! The yellows!

Beauford Delaney portraits auctioned by Christie's London

This led to an email exchange, which culminated in the interview below.

Les Amis: How and when did you first learn about Beauford's work?

JC: I first learned of Beauford's work at the Studio Museum in Harlem. It was a retrospective of his work in nineteen seventy-eight (1978).

Beauford Delaney: A Retrospective catalog cover

Les Amis: What makes his colors "far outshine" the works by the minimalist and color field artists of the 70s?

JC: Minimalism was the rave during my time as a young artist in Manhattan of the seventies. The professed cold intellectualist nonspiritual objective approach yielded work I could appreciate on that basis. So, I dove right in. But I felt a need to find a model akin to me and my creative life. I would haunt the streets of Harlem, devouring all black culture there - visual art, theater, dance, politics, history, bookstores, and religious institutions.

I walked through the Studio Museum’s doors, and I saw art by Black Artists! The Delaney retrospective was down but there were still pieces hanging. I walked upstairs and on this floor I saw Beauford’s work. Portraits first, street scenes next, and then, the abstractions. Those Yellows, there were greens and some reds. 

For me though, it was and still is those yellows. Bright, brighter than bright! Emotive spiritual heat. So much light. Executed with skill, technique and passion. Not just some mechanical exercise, Beauford lit the way!

Les Amis: How prevalent was knowledge of Beauford's work among your fellow students during the time you were studying art?

JC: Beauford was a non-entity to the students at the institutions I attended.

Les Amis: How prevalent was knowledge of his work among your professors and mentors during the time you were studying art?

JC: If professors knew of Mr. Delaney they did not share that knowledge or were too culturally chauvinistic to acknowledge the work. I did have an art associate who introduced me to Alice Neel, a woman portrait artist who referred me to Beauford s work and encouraged me to continue my artwork.

Les Amis: How prevalent is knowledge of his work amongst your artist peers today?

JC: Many of my current peers know of Beauford Delaney's work thanks to efforts of the Studio Museum, the Smithsonian, and organizations like Les Amis Beauford Delaney.

Les Amis: (How) does Beauford's artistic style influence yours?

JC: It’s the light, along with Rembrandt’s chiaroscuro. The glazing techniques of illustrators like Maxfield Parish. Beauford's striking results heavily influence my analog, digital, and projection work.

Les Amis: Do you have a preference for his figurative versus his abstract works or for works he created during a specific period of his career (New York versus Paris)?

JC: Initially I preferred Beauford’s abstractions. However, as I look, I see the abstract aspects in his figurative and landscape work (Street Scenes).

Les Amis: You mentioned Beauford's yellows in your original comments. Please tell us why you find them so exciting.

JC: Beauford's yellows burn, illuminate, vibrate the space they occupy. In my current digital work experiments I attempt to master that.

Les Amis: Your biography states that all your work is political. Do you "see politics" in Beauford's work? If so, in what way(s)?

JC: Beauford’s very existence at the time he practiced his art and ventured to explore the practice of art, let alone abstraction, as the world around him denied his very humanity - let alone his and others' creative capabilities - is a powerful political statement. 

Even though Beauford's expat situation did not end well, he took a popular path to find a better life free of constraints.

Les Amis: Your biography states that your work speaks to cosmopolitan / universal issues. Do you believe Beauford's work does this as well? If so, in what way(s)?

JC: Of course, Beauford created works of art that speak to the human condition ... the figure, the landscape and the psyche.

Les Amis: What do you know about Beauford's life story? Do you find any similarities between his story and yours?

JC: At first, I knew little if anything at all about Beauford’s life. As I learned about it, my first thoughts were that it was tragic. But as I've lived and seen the lives of many of my peers come to similar conclusions - I realize that there are triumphant aspects to his and their journey. I appreciate the lessons learned from them that helped me find positive alternatives.

Les Amis: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?

JC: If it weren’t for Beauford Delaney, the world would be a poorer place. He brought his own light. I for one am indebted and thankful for the lessons and possibilities he gave ... and most of all, the JOY.

Thank you, Maestro Beauford Delaney!

Joel M. Crooms
Image courtesy of Joel M. Crooms