Video Explorations of Beauford's Life and Art

I recently learned that Beauford's biographer, David A. Leeming, will soon be featured in a livestreamed interview during which he will talk about the relationship between Beauford and James Baldwin.

The news inspired me to look for videos that explore this relationship and other aspects of Beauford's life, and I found more than I expected.

Below are a few short (less than 5-minute) recordings that present various perspectives on his life and art.

"Remembering Knoxville-born Artist Beauford Delaney" gives a brief overview of Beauford's life, focusing on his Knoxville origin. 

 

"MIA Highlight: Beauford Delaney, Untitled, 1954" presents Beauford's famous "raincoat painting," focusing on the abstract nature of this work.

"#FallenThroughTheCracks: Black Artists in History - Beauford Delaney" beautifully and succinctly summarizes Beauford's development as an artist.

"Portrait of James Baldwin by Beauford Delaney" presents the 1945 oil portrait of Baldwin held by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Finally, the Knoxville Museum of Art obtained permission from INA France to present this ~1-minute video of rare footage of Beauford being interviewed in his Clamart studio on the KMA Facebook page.

Click on the image below to view it.

Beauford's Paris: Rue des Anglais

I don't know if Beauford ever visited the rue des Anglais in Paris.

What I do know is that his several of his paintings "lived" there for a period of time after he was committed to Sainte-Anne's Hospital.

Rue des Anglais - corner of rue Lagrange
© Entrée to Black Paris

David Leeming wrote about this in his biography called Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney:

...Baldwin went to Paris hoping to find a way of arranging for Beauford's permanent care. His first act was to find—at his expense—a new apartment for the storage of Beauford's paintings and for the painter's use should he recover. The apartment was in the rue d'Anglais, near an apartment Baldwin hoped to rent or buy for himself.

I was inspired to write this post after a lengthy Facebook communication with author David Yeats. I posted this image of a painting by Khalif Tahir Thompson, and Yeats commented that he recognized Beauford's portrait of James Baldwin on the wall behind Thompson's brilliant portrayal of Baldwin.

Baldwin
Khalif Tahir Thompson
2020 mixed media
Image from FB - Fair use claim

Portrait of James Baldwin
(1971) Oil on canvas
Bequest of James Baldwin
Image courtesy of Clark Atlanta University Art Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Yeats told me that he mentions Beauford in his novel, The Opal Causeway, in a scene where two young boys are talking about art in a library and one of them says he thinks he recognizes a Beauford Delaney painting.

Yeats lived at 12, rue des Anglais in April 1975, which was about the time Beauford went to Sainte-Anne's. He knew Baldwin and Baldwin's dear friend, Bernard Hassell. He mentioned that Hassell lived on rue des Anglais and that Beauford's paintings were stored in a flat in the same building. He said the door of that flat had a huge seal on it.

While he couldn't remember the exact address of the building, Yeats described it as being "on the left coming from the direction of bd. Saint Germain." He thought the building might have been at Number 8.

I decided to go to the rue des Anglais to photograph the buildings as they look today.

10-12, rue des Anglais
© Entrée to Black Paris

8, rue des Anglais - view from near rue Lagrange
© Entrée to Black Paris

8, rue des Anglais
© Entrée to Black Paris

8, rue des Anglais - restaurant
© Entrée to Black Paris

8, rue des Anglais - entrance
© Entrée to Black Paris

6, rue des Anglais
© Entrée to Black Paris

4, rue des Anglais
© Entrée to Black Paris

2 bis, rue des Anglais
© Entrée to Black Paris

2, rue des Anglais
© Entrée to Black Paris

I have asked the Beauford Delaney estate whether it knows the exact address of the storage flat, and they have initiated a search of the Beauford Delaney Papers at UTKnoxville to find this information.

I will update this post once the search is completed.

Swann Auction Galleries Sells Beauford Delaney Abstract

On April 4, 2024, Swann Auction Galleries auctioned a Beauford Delaney abstract that was shown at the itinerant Minneapolis Institute of Arts exhibition entitled Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris.

Untitled
(circa 1956) Gouache, watercolor and charcoal on wove paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

It was most likely created during Beauford's first year at his Clamart studio. 

The composition of this work reminds me of a much later abstract, which was done in different colors and which Swann successfully auctioned in October 2017. 

Untitled (Abstract Composition)
(1965) Watercolor on wove paper
Signed, dated and inscribed "avec amour" in ink
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

For me, both works evoke James Baldwin's quote about a window at the studio:

There was a window in Beauford's house in Clamart before which we often sat—late at night, early in the morning, at noon. This window looked out on a garden; or rather, it would have looked out on a garden if it had not been for the leaves and branches of a large tree which pressed directly against the window.

Everything one saw from this window, then, was filtered through these leaves...

The estimated sale price of the c. 1956 gouache was $30,000 - $40,000. 

 

It sold for $32,500, including a 25% buyer's premium.

Beauford Potpourri 3

By receiving Google Alerts about Beauford and messages from persons interested in his life and work, I am able to collect tidbits of information and references to him that add to the growing data base about him. For the third time, I am publishing links to some of these references.

The Art Story - Beauford Delaney

The Art Story has published a thoughtful and easily digestible summary of Beauford's life and artistic influence. 

Beginning with his birth date, death date, and a timeline, 

it is presented in six sections:

Summary

Accomplishments 

Important Art

Biography 

Influences and Connections 

Useful Resources

It even mentions Les Amis de Beauford Delaney at the end of the biography section!

Hard/Soft/Lost: The Edges of Contemporary Culture / Inappropriate Edges: Beauford Delaney’s Untitled-1969

University of Tennessee Humanities Center Director Amy J. Elias wrote a scintillating evaluation of an untitled 1969 tempura work on paper that was shown in the Transcending Race & Time exhibition at the UT Downtown Gallery in 2020-2021.

Beauford used the front page of the May 24-25, 1969 edition of the International Herald Tribune as the support medium for this work, deliberately choosing to paint over the article published about the 1969 Greensboro Uprising.

Letters Reveal Beauford Delaney and Palmer Hayden’s Lifelong Friendship

This brief article presents images of correspondence by Palmer and Miriam Hayden that mentions Beauford as well as a letter that Beauford wrote to his brother, Joseph Delaney. It includes an image of paintings by Beauford and Hayden that were shown in proximity during the Dirty South exhibition that was hosted by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AK in 2022.

The Burning Bush
(1941) Oil on paperboard
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The third link at the end of this article leads to a recording of an excellent conversation between Kristi McMillan, Director of Learning and Engagement at the Asheville Art Museum in North Carolina, and Dr. Mary Campbell, Professor of Art History at the University of Tennessee Knoxville regarding the Through the Unusual Door exhibition that was mounted by the Knoxville Museum of Art in 2020 and the Beauford Delaney's Metamorphosis into Freedom exhibition mounted by the Asheville Art Museum in 2021.

Beauford Delaney Research Grant 2023/2024

Kelly-Christina Grant, an art history doctoral candidate at the University of Paris Nanterre, is the 2023/2024 winner of the Bourse Beauford Delaney-Villa Albertine (Beauford Delaney Research Grant).

Supported by the Ford Foundation, this grant funds travel and other expenses related to research projects on African-American art undertaken by France-based academics and scholars.

Grant's project, L’Atlantique noire de Loïs Mailou Jones (The Black Atlantic of Loïs Mailou Jones), examines "the political, social, gender, and racial issues surrounding Jones’ practice of landscape painting."

Kelly-Christina Grant
LinkedIn Photo

This work is also the focus of her Terra Foundation for American Art predoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Beauford and Jones met during Beauford's Boston years. Jones was a student at the Boston Museum School at the time, and Beauford had established himself in the city with the support of Knoxville artist Lloyd Branson. While it is not clear how well the two knew each other, they both frequented Boston's museums and the Ford Hall Forum on Boyleston Street. Both took classes at the Massachusetts Normal Art School (aka Boston Normal Art School).

Both artists were also masters at landscape painting.

Greenwich Village
(1945) Oil on canvas
Image by Manu Sasoonian, from Amazing Grace
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Jardin du Luxembourg
Loïs Mailou Jones
(ca 1948) Oil on canvas
Smithsonian American Art Institute

Grant had the following to say about Beauford and his work:

Like Loïs Mailou Jones, Beauford Delaney was an extraordinary colorist whose art spanned many styles and who captured on canvas the mood of the places who inspired him the most, from New York to Paris. He's a major Modernist painter in the history of American art.

Read Grant's research article entitled "African-American Women Artists in French Public Collections: Acquisitions from the 1970s to the Present Day" by clicking HERE.

A Chance Meeting Features Beauford's Art on Cover

Rachel Cohen is a Beauford Delaney aficionada and a superb writer.

She send me the following message a few days ago:

I am delighted that New York Review of Books Classics is reissuing my first book A Chance Meeting at its 20th anniversary. The book traces more than a century of encounters among American writers and artists. The new edition has a wonderful Beauford Delaney cover, a forward by Vijay Seshadri and a new afterword by me, and it goes on sale tomorrow, March 19th. The book is NYRB's March book of the month; information and a way to purchase are here.

Book cover for A Chance Meeting

The artwork that graces the cover of the latest edition of Cohen's book is Untitled (Village Street Scene), (1948) Oil on canvas.

Since 2014, Les Amis has published five articles that feature Cohen's insightful commentary on Beauford's life and art. Her work is a joy to read!

Find links to the articles below.

Rachel Cohen on Beauford

Rachel Cohen's Tribute to Beauford

Rachel's Musings: Three Articles about Beauford

Stephen Wicks and Rachel Cohen Discuss Baldwin Portrait: Part 1

Stephen Wicks and Rachel Cohen Discuss Baldwin Portrait: Part 2

Beauford's Red, Yellow, Orange Sold by Christie's

Christie's Paris sold Beauford's Red, Yellow, Orange during its Post-War to Present auction on March 13, 2024.

Red, Yellow, Orange
(1963) Gouache on paper
signed, inscribed and dated 'Beauford Delaney Paris 1963' (lower right)
signed again and stamped with the Estate of Beauford Delaney stamp 'Beauford Delaney' (on the reverse)
25 ½ x 19 ½ in. (64.8 x 49.5 cm.)
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

The estimated sale price was $40,000 - $60,000.

The piece sold for $47,880, including a 26% buyer's premium.

To see other Beauford Delaney works that feature the color "orange," click on the link below:

Beauford and the Color "Orange"

Christie's to Auction Beauford Delaney Work on Paper

On March 13, 2024, Christie's Paris will host its Post-War to Present auction.

Beauford's Red, Yellow, Orange will be among the works available for purchase.

Red, Yellow, Orange
(1963) Gouache on paper
signed, inscribed and dated 'Beauford Delaney Paris 1963' (lower right)
signed again and stamped with the Estate of Beauford Delaney stamp 'Beauford Delaney' (on the reverse)
25 ½ x 19 ½ in. (64.8 x 49.5 cm.)
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

This work was shown at the Beauford Delaney: Internal Light exhibition mounted by Levis Fine Art in May-June 2013.

In 1963, Beauford was under the care of the renowned psychiatrist Dr. Gaston Ferdière.

Biographer David Leeming writes that "With Dr. Ferdière's help Beauford was exploring himself more profoundly than he had been willing to do in the past."

He also writes that Spring 1963 "brought a new burst of painting and a concentrated attempt to translate the 'long interims of probity into our thoughts' into paintings 'which are never what our inner vision expected.'"

I wonder whether the fiery nature of Red, Yellow, Orange is a representation of this effort.

The estimated sale price of Red, Yellow, Orange is $40,000 – $60,000.

For information about the auction, click HERE.

KMA Loans Beauford Delaney Works to National and International Venues

From the desk of Stephen Wicks, Barbara A. and Bernard E. Bernstein Curator at the Knoxville Museum of Art: 

The Knoxville Museum of Art is pleased to be able to support loan requests from several museums wishing to borrow works from the KMA’s extensive holdings by Knoxville-born modernist master Beauford Delaney.  

Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN, March 2024-March 2025

Exhibition summary: Two works on paper by Beauford Delaney for display in the museum’s collection galleries. The Hunter owns no works by the artist and its curatorial team is hopeful this year-long loan will help them generate additional support for a Delaney acquisition. 

Art work:

Untitled, circa 1961
Watercolor and gouache on paper, 25 ½ x 19 ½ inches
Knoxville Museum of Art, 2015 purchase with funds provided by
the Rachael Patterson Young Art Acquisition Reserve
© The Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator 

Untitled (Yellow, Red, and Black Circles for James Baldwin, Istanbul), 1966
Watercolor and gouache on paper, 25 5/8 x 19 inches
Knoxville Museum of Art, 2018 Beauford Delaney Acquisition
© The Estate of Beauford Delaney
by Permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator   

Grey Art Museum, New York University, Manhattan, NY,
Americans in Paris exhibition/tour, March 2024-June 2025: 

 

Exhibition Summary: This exhibition represents the first substantial, scholarly overview of the work of American visual artists who pursued artistic training or worked for extended periods in postwar Paris, featuring never-before-published interviews with American and French artists, critics, and dealers. 

 

Exhibition venues:

• Grey Art Museum/NYU, March 2-mid-July 2024
• Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA, September 2024-January 2025
• NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, February-June 2025 

 

Art work:

 

Blue-Light Abstraction, circa 1962
Oil on canvas, 25 3/4 x 21 1/2 inches
Knoxville Museum of Art, 2018 Beauford Delaney Acquisition
© The Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

 

Centre Pompidou, Paris, FRANCE
Paris Noir exhibition, March 19-June 30, 2025

 

Exhibition summary: A groundbreaking exhibition devoted to the trajectory of 50 black artists based in France from the 1950s-1990s, and the importance artistic, social, and political factors that informed their course of their work. 

 

Art work: 

 

 

Untitled (African Figure), circa 1968
Oil and watercolor monoprint on paper, 25 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches
Knoxville Museum of Art, 2018 Beauford Delaney Acquisition
© The Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

 

Scattered Light, 1964
Oil on canvas, 39 x 24 inches
Knoxville Museum of Art,
2015 purchase with funds provided by 

the Rachael Patterson Young Art Acquisition Reserve 

© The Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

While promoting the KMA’s Delaney collection, these loans are an important means of supporting important museum exhibitions organized by distinguished colleagues, and bringing Beauford Delaney’s extraordinary life and work to the attention of museum audiences around the world.

The Delaney Museum at Beck Needs You

Several days ago, Beck Cultural Exchange Center president Reneé Kesler gave a poignant interview to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

She explained that progress on the renovation of the Delaney family home, which is adjacent to the Beck Cultural Exchange Center and destined to become the Delaney Museum at Beck, has been much delayed due to skyrocketing expenses ...

... and has kicked off a new round of fundraising to bring in the additional $2.3 million required to complete the project.

Les Amis has written about the Delaney Museum at Beck a few times:

Groundbreaking for the Delaney Museum at Beck

The Delaney Museum at Beck: Groundbreaking Ceremony Scheduled for August 30

The Art of Delaney: Redeeming, Reconciling, and Healing

The Wells International Foundation, the U.S. nonprofit organization that mounted the Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition in Paris in collaboration with Les Amis in 2016, looks forward to hosting events that focus on Beauford's artistic practice as a tool for combatting his mental instability in Knoxville soon after the museum's opening.

The new projected opening date is May 15, 2025.

To support the fundraising campaign for the Delaney Museum at Beck, click HERE.

Living an Inner Life and Learning

"I work and live an inner life and learn."

Biographer David Leeming quotes Beauford as saying this in a letter to Larry Wallrich that he dated February 2, 1957.

Upon reading this, I decided to look for works by Beauford that are dated 1957.

I found surprisingly few of them.

Monique and Beauford's Untitled
(1957) Oil on canvas
114,2 x 162 cm / 44.9 x 63.8 in
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Photo © Discover Paris!

James Baldwin
(c. 1957) Oil on canvas board
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

What was Beauford living and learning at this period of his life?

By early 1957, he had lived a year at the Clamart studio. During this time, he "returned seriously to portrait painting" and began working with Paul Facchetti and Darthea Speyer to sell his art.

He sent paintings to be shown at the First New York Exposition of Progress - an event that touted the progress of the Negro - at the Wanamaker Building in Manhattan, contributed works to a group show for "Abstract American" artists at the Galerie Arnaud, and had his first solo exhibition at the Galerie Prisme.

First New York Exposition of Progress
Illustrated double-sided flier (recto)
Fair use claim

To combat depression, he read Buddhist writings, enjoyed the company of friends, and painted.

A "New" Beauford Delaney Urban Landscape Revealed

I was absolutely delighted to read an article entitled "A painting’s long and personal journey" about the Portland Art Museum's recent acquisition of a Beauford Delaney work.

An image of a magnificent urban landscape is the first thing you see after reading the article's lengthy subtitle: "How Beauford Delaney’s Twilight Street got from 119 Waverly Place in New York’s Greenwich Village to the studio of art conservator Nina Olsson to the Portland Art Museum's walls."

Twilight Street
(1946) Oil and mixed media on masonite
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Can Fire in the Park, which is arguably Beauford's most famous urban landscape, was also created in 1946.

Can Fire in the Park
(1946) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

He created one of his Greene Street paintings that year as well.

Greene Street
(1946) Oil on canvas
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Martha Ullman West, daughter of painter Allen Ullman, penned this personal piece about how her father and Beauford were friends and how she knew Beauford as a child. She recounts a story about how Beauford, who was always virtually penniless, gave her a quarter to purchase a book she wanted.

West goes on to talk relay additional personal anecdotes about her father and Beauford before launching into the topic of how Twilight Street made its way into the collection of the Portland Art Museum. This part of the article presents intricate detail about the restoration of the painting and the woman who restored it.

It also presents several images that illustrate this work.

Finally, the article indicates that Twilight Street will be on display in the Throughlines exhibition at the museum from February 8 through November 1, 2024.

Read "A painting’s long and personal journey" HERE.

Case Antiques Sold Two Beauford Delaney Works

Case Auctions sold both Beauford Delaney works offered during its Fine Arts, Antiques, and Jewelry auction on January 27.

Untitled (Ibiza) (Lot 128) went for $10,980.00, including a 22% buyer's premium.

Lot 128: Untitled (Ibiza)
(1956) gouache and watercolor
18" H x 11 7/8" W
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

The estimated sale price was $12,000 - $14,000.

.

Yellow Abstraction
(Lot 129) sold for $24,400.00, including a 22% buyer's premium.

Lot 129: Yellow Abstraction
(1961) gouache on paper
10 1/2" H x 8" W
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

The estimated sale price was $10,000 - $12,000.

.

For more information about the auction, click HERE.

Two Beauford Delaney Works for Sale Today

Case Antiques is holding its Fine Arts, Antiques, and Jewelry auction today and tomorrow (January 27 and 28, 2024).

Among the works for sale are two pieces by Beauford:

Lot 128: Untitled (Ibiza)
(1956) gouache and watercolor
18" H x 11 7/8" W
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Untitled (Ibiza) signature
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Lot 129: Yellow Abstraction
(1961) gouache on paper
10 1/2" H x 8" W
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Both are in excellent condition.

We featured Untitled (Ibiza) in a recent blog post entitled "Ibiza Watercolors."

It was shown in the Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris exhibition organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (November 20, 2004 - February 20, 2005).

Yellow Abstraction was shown in the exhibition entitled Beauford Delaney: Internal Light that was organized by Levis Fine Art in 2013. Les Amis has published multiple articles about this show:

BEAUFORD DELANEY: INTERNAL LIGHT

Jim Levis on Beauford Delaney: Internal Light

Ba'lls to the Wa'll, Y'all - Part 1 and Part 2

Conversations with Beauford - Part 1 and Part 2

Beauford: His Art and His Light

The estimated sale price for Untitled (Ibiza) is $12,000 - $14,000, while the estimate for Yellow Abstraction is $10,000 - $12,000.

For information about the auction, click HERE.

Beauford at the Montréal Contemporary Art Museum

The Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal (MACM), Montreal's contemporary art museum, owns two works by Beauford.

 Sans titre, 1963
Huile sur toile
 Collection Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal
Photo : MACM
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Madame Biocci, 1967
Charcoal and gouache on paper mounted on cardboard
Collection Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal
Photo : MACM
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Both were given to the museum by Guy Joussemet, a prominent art collector who knew Beauford and received the works directly from him. MACM's records indicate that Beauford gave Joussement the abstract oil painting at his rue Vercingétorix studio.

I have not yet been able to determine how the two men met.

Madame Biocci (1967) was painted on newsprint, the text of which appears to be in Italian.

In 1966, Beauford traveled to Venice with his two dear friends, Larry Calcagno and Charley Boggs, to visit the Venice Biennale.  Perhaps he obtained the newspaper on which he painted this portrait during that trip.

I do not know if he met Madame Biocci on this trip or at another time, or even if she is an actual person.

Neither work is currently on display at MACM.

Rachel Cohen on Beauford

I'm away from the office for the next few weeks and not able to fully concentrate on the stories I'm developing for the blog.

Because I don't want to "press pause" on the publishing schedule, for this week's post I'm taking the liberty of sharing content that Rachel Cohen wrote about Beauford. 

She has penned some of the most thoughtful commentary on Beauford's work that I've ever read!

I'm sure you'll enjoy this June 2020 piece, which is entitled 

"Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin, Notes of Native Sons." 

 

Untitled (Village Street Scene)
(1948) Oil on canvas
Signed and dated in oil, lower left.
Image from Swann Auction Galleries Web site
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Ibiza Watercolors

A work on paper from Beauford's Clamart years will be auctioned on January 27, 2024. 

It is a watercolor and gouache that bears the name of the island of Ibiza above his signature.

Untitled (Ibiza) (1956) gouache and watercolor
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator 

Untitled (Ibiza) - detail
 (1956) gouache and watercolor
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator 

The announcement of the sale reminded me that Beauford created several watercolors when he traveled to Ibiza with his dear friend, Larry Calcagno, in 1956.  

While on the island, Beauford wrote to Henry Miller of the beauty and power of the Mediterranean and its surrounding, of the watercolors he was doing, and how he was "trying to say with my life the unsayable."

Here are images of other works he created during that trip.

Untitled (Ibiza) (1956) gouache and watercolor
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator

Untitled: Abstract in Black, Calligraphic Lines with Red, Diptych
(ca. 1956) Gouache on wove paper
Signed lower left and lower right
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image supplied by Levis Fine Art 

In Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney, biographer David Leeming indicated that Beauford and Calcagno were joined by James Baldwin, Leslie Schenk, and Baldwin's friend Arnold, and said that Baldwin wrote to a friend how important Beauford's relationship with Calcagno was.  

Beauford and his friends spent the month of August together, visiting Majorca as well as Ibiza. Leeming noted that the trip was the "real bright spot of the summer...".