Portrait of a Woman Sold by Black Art Auction

Black Art Auction offered Beauford's Portrait of a Woman, c. 1970 at its Timed Summer Auction.

Lot 11
(c. 1970) Portrait of a Woman
Oil monoprint on paper (unique)
24 x 19-1/2 in.
unsigned
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

The work proposed is quite similar in form to the one pictured below.

Untitled (Woman in an Abstract Field)
(1966) Oil monotype, with hand-painted additions in oil,
on cream wove paper
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

The Wells International Foundation's 2016 intern, Sojourner Ahébée, wrote a poem inspired by this work.

Les Amis published the poem on August 27, 2016.

Portrait of a Woman is dated c. 1970, but it is entirely possible that he created it at the same time he painted Untitled (Woman in an Abstract Field)

Its estimated sale price was $15,000 - $20,000.

The work sold for $13,000, including a 25% buyer's premium.

Portrait of a Bearded Young Man Sold by Swann Auction Galleries

Portrait of a Bearded Young Man was part of Swann Auction Galleries' LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History auction, which took place on August 21, 2025.

Lot 189
Portrait of a Bearded Young Man Reading
(1971-72) Oil on linen canvas
64.8 x 54 cm.; 25 1/2x21 1/4 inches.
Signed and dated in pencil, lower edge (twice)
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

To my knowledge, this is the first time Swann has offered a Beauford Delaney work in a sale whose theme is not African-American artists.

The blues and greens that dominate the background of this work and the horizontal line behind the subject that virtually bisects the painting evoke a country landscape. White streaks in the upper portion of the painting make me think of clouds.

Perhaps Beauford painted this during one of the first trips he took to Saint Paul de Vence, where, in 1971,  James Baldwin had recently moved into what would become his last home.

The estimated sale price of Portrait of a Bearded Young Man was $20,000 - $30,000.

The painting sold for $16,500, including a 25% buyer's premium.

For more information about the auction, click HERE.

Two Beauford Delaney Portraits to Be Auctioned

Two Beauford Delaney portraits are being offered at auction this month.

Portrait of a Bearded Young Man is part of Swann Auction Galleries' LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History auction, which will take place on August 21, 2025.

Lot 189
Portrait of a Bearded Young Man Reading
(1971-72) Oil on linen canvas
64.8 x 54 cm.; 25 1/2x21 1/4 inches.
Signed and dated in pencil, lower edge (twice)
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

To my knowledge, this is the first time Swann is offering a Beauford Delaney work in a sale whose theme is not African-American artists.

The estimated sale price is $20,000 - $30,000.

For more information about this auction, click HERE.

Black Art Auction is offering Beauford's Portrait of a Woman, c. 1970 at its Timed Summer Auction.

The work being proposed is quite similar to the one pictured below.

Untitled (Woman in an Abstract Field)
(1966) Oil monotype, with hand-painted additions in oil,
on cream wove paper
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

The Wells International Foundation's 2016 intern, Sojourner Ahébée, wrote a poem inspired by this work.

Les Amis published the poem on August 27, 2016.

The estimated sale price for Portrait of a Woman is $15,000 - $20,000.

For more information about this sale, click HERE.

Resonance of Form Works on Paper

Because a couple of the works being displayed in Beauford's solo exhibition at The Drawing Center were first shown in public during the 2016 Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition that the Wells International Foundation and Les Amis organized in Paris, I was inspired to look at all the works on paper from this earlier show and post images of a few of them here today.

The first four works represented in the images below are my favorites from Resonance of Form.

Untitled
(1956) Inks on paper
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

Untitled
(1956) Aquarelle on paper
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

Les Embruns
(1963) Mixed media on paper
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

Untitled
(1970) Mixed media on cardboard
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

The two works pictured below are similar to works represented in The Drawing Center's In the Medium of Life catalog.

Untitled
(1960) Mixed media on paper
Similar to Plate 37 in In the Medium of Life
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY

Man in African Dress
(1972) Watercolor on paper
Similar to Plate 89 in In the Medium of Life
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY