From Soundscapes to Composition
George Henry’s Summer 2026 Internship with
The Beauford Delaney Project
This summer, The Beauford Delaney Project welcomed George Henry as an intern through the Wells International Foundation’s Summer 2026 Internship Program. A recent graduate of Amherst College, where they double majored in Black Studies and Computer Science, George brought to the project an unusually rich combination of interests in Black studies, technology, music production, archival reclamation, and sound.
What began as an exploration of Beauford Delaney’s relationship with New York City ultimately became something more ambitious: the creation of original musical compositions that resulted from George’s conversations with Beauford’s visual art.
The project was initially conceived as a series of soundscapes based on locations in New York City associated with Beauford’s life. George planned to visit these sites, capture their contemporary sounds, and use those recordings to evoke the environments in which Beauford lived and worked.
But, as the summer unfolded, the project evolved.
Rather than simply documenting the sounds of places connected to Beauford, George began asking what might happen when those sounds became material for musical composition. The result was the beginning of Art & Sound in Conversation, a new component of The Beauford Delaney Project that invites artists to respond creatively to Beauford’s work while drawing upon research, place, and their own artistic practices.
George’s first composition, “Washington Square I,” was inspired by Beauford’s Washington Square (1952).
Untitled (Washington Square)
(1952) Oil on canvas
Greenville County Museum of Art
Greenville, SC
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
Working in Washington Square Park, they gathered environmental recordings and combined them with musical elements including guitar, piano, and strings. The resulting work does not attempt to reproduce or literally interpret Beauford’s painting. Instead, it offers another way of entering the world suggested by the painting—through movement, atmosphere, texture, and sound.
George Henry recording environmental sounds in Washington Square Park
© Wells International Foundation
The process also demonstrated one of the possibilities at the heart of The Beauford Delaney Project: that scholarship need not end with written analysis. Research can become material for artistic inquiry, and artistic inquiry can, in turn, open new ways of understanding an artist and the places that shaped their life.
Listen to “Washington Square I.”
George then created “Dark Rapture,” another original composition. It was inspired by Beauford’s iconic portrait of James Baldwin.
Dark Rapture
(1941) Oil on masonite
Collection of halley k harrisburg and Michael Rosenfeld, New York
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
With this composition, George explored another set of ideas and sounds that emerged during their experimentation.
He also envisioned the environment in which Beauford painted Baldwin, based on the well-known photo of Beauford in his Greene Street studio.
Beauford in his Greene Street studio, New York City, 1944
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Held in the Beauford Delaney Papers,
MS.3967,
Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives,
University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
George’s “Washington Square II” was inspired by Beauford’s 1951 depiction of Washington Square Park. For this work, they returned to ideas and sounds from both earlier compositions that they felt did not belong in those works. Some of that material found a new home in “Washington Square II.”
Untitled (Washington Square Park)
(1951) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
The second Washington Square composition expanded the project's collaborative dimension, bringing other artists and their environments directly into the creative process.
As part of the project, WIF arranged for George to visit the studio of visual artist Khalif Tarik Thompson, whose own work is deeply informed by Beauford’s life and artistic legacy. George interviewed Khalif about his work and his interest in Beauford. Khalif happened to have several visitors in the studio that day, and the conversations and laughter in the background were captured in the recording. Snippets of that ambient sound ultimately found their way into “Washington Square II,” transforming an encounter with another artist into part of the composition itself.
George also invited flutist Maya Keys to contribute an improvised flute performance to “Washington Square II.” Her contribution became part of the finished work, adding another voice to George’s exploration of the relationship between visual art, place, and sound.
Listen to “Washington Square II.”
These experiences prompted WIF to think more intentionally about how future interns might identify and engage artists, scholars, and other contributors whose knowledge, perspectives, and creative practices can enrich their work.
They also demonstrated something fundamental about interdisciplinary practice: collaboration does not always simply add another perspective to a project. Sometimes, it becomes part of the work itself.
Just as important as the finished compositions was the process through which George developed them. Throughout the summer, George faithfully maintained a weekly project journal to document the evolution of their work. Their approach combined independent research, visual observation, field recording, reflection, experimentation, and musical production. The internship became not simply an opportunity to produce finished works, but also an opportunity to test how interdisciplinary methods might generate new forms of scholarship.
The experimentation is now documented, in part, through Studio Notes, a companion component of The Beauford Delaney Project. While Art & Sound in Conversation presents the finished creative works, Studio Notes opens a window onto the creative processes behind them. Together, the two provide both the work and a way of understanding how it came into being.
Component of Studio Notes
George’s internship demonstrated the value of giving an emerging scholar and artist room to follow an idea as it develops. The evolution from soundscapes to compositions was not simply a change in terminology. It reflected a deeper discovery about what George could contribute to the project and what the project could become.
Perhaps most significantly, George’s internship embodies a principle central to The Beauford Delaney Project: scholarship can be a generative act. Looking closely at Beauford’s paintings, researching his life, walking through places he knew, listening to those environments, and experimenting with sound did not simply produce information about Beauford. They produced something new.
That is the spirit of Art & Sound in Conversation: not to illustrate Beauford’s work, but to enter into dialogue with it.
As we prepare to bring The Beauford Delaney Project to audiences in Knoxville, George’s work offers a glimpse of what this initiative can become. It demonstrates how young scholars and artists can engage with Delaney across disciplines and generations—and how technology and creative practice can help bring archival and historical inquiry into the present.
The conversation continues.
Classes Duo Paris/Knoxville: Legacy
Nine years have passed since the Wells International Foundation (WIF) first contacted the City of Paris about organizing a groundbreaking cross-cultural exchange between elementary school students in Paris and Beauford’s hometown of Knoxville, TN.
After eight months of preparation, students from Nature’s Way Montessori School met the children at Jean Zay Elementary School via Zoom for the first time in January 2018.
And in October 2018, Nature’s Way students traveled to Paris to meet the Jean Zay students in person.
As part of WIF’s 10th anniversary celebration, Founder and CEO Dr. Monique Y. Wells reached out to the parents of participating students to learn what impact Classes Duo Paris/Knoxville has had for their children. She was able to interview three of the students who participated in the two-year program and also made the trip to Paris.
WIF banner for Classes Duo Paris/Knoxville Web page
Jesse Wojcik
Jesse (pictured at the far right in the banner above) had been to Paris several times prior to this visit due to traveling with his mom, Dr. Mary Campbell of the University of Tennessee Knoxville.
Because of this, he had the opportunity to meet a few of the Jean Zay students before the entire Knoxville cohort came to Paris.
Jean Zay students and Jesse (far right) at the Luxembourg Garden
© Wells International Foundation
Jesse said he enjoyed the Classes Duo excursion because he was able to go with friends that he knew from school. He recalled having fun at the boys’ sleepover event and mentioned seeing some of the students from Jean Zay again during a subsequent visit to Paris. He recalled visiting landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe with the Knoxville group and said he would recommend the program to others.
Jesse’s rendition of Beauford Delaney’s Curvy Trees
© Wells International Foundation
Andrew Stone
Andrew (pictured in the center of the banner above) was a 14-year-old freshman enrolled at Bearden High School in Knoxville at the time of the interview. He was only six years old when he started the program and seven years old when made the trip to Paris. It was the first time he had traveled by plane, and he described it as being exciting but also scary, particularly due to the long 7-8 hour flight.
Andrew Stone
Courtesy of Joy Stone
Among his favorite memories of places were the picnic in the Jardin Atlantique (Atlantic Garden) atop the Montparnasse train station and the visit to the Eiffel Tower on a cold, foggy day. He remembered the art projects that were part of the Classes Duo curriculum, including creating scenes of Knoxville and clay sculptures of Josephine Baker and her cheetah, Chiquita.
Andrew’s drawing of the Delaney House, soon to be the Delaney Museum at Beck
© Wells International Foundation
Andrew said he likes to doodle and finds that he often feels compelled to add more and more to these drawings until they become quite intricate. He described them as “detailed randomness.”
He mentioned seeing some of his fellow Knoxville students occasionally but not actively keeping in touch with them.
Andrew’s mom, Joy, also participated in the call. She shared that the family had kept every piece of artwork Andrew created during the program and that she took over 4,000 photos during the Paris trip. She would be happy if Andrew would consider doing a junior year abroad.
Mia Ghenov
Mia (pictured at the far left of the banner above) was a senior at West High School at the time of the interview. She was pursuing plans to either attend culinary school or travel and cook. She expressed how the Paris trip influenced her desire to travel.
Mia Ghenov
Photo courtesy of Mia Ghenov
Mia's favorite memory from her overall Classes Duo experience was connecting with students and learning about Beauford's work while traveling abroad.
Her favorite memory from the Paris trip was attending school and experiencing a typical French school day, including French classes and lunch in the cafeteria. She noted that this trip was her first time traveling abroad and had a significant impact on her, inspiring her to pursue a career in culinary arts. She was learning Italian as well as French culinary terms in support of her intent to apply to culinary schools and internships in Rome and France, and she shared her aspirations to become a chef or open her own restaurant.
Mia shared her thoughts about learning about Beauford's impact on Black communities in America and France, particularly his influence on James Baldwin. She highlighted her favorite art project from Classes Duo, which involved sculpting a clay portrait of Josephine Baker (which she still has), and noted that Beauford did not create any paintings of her despite his admiration for her.
Mia’s bust of Josephine Baker
© Wells International Foundation
In reflecting on what she would tell other students about participating in Classes Duo, Mia commented on the value of having experienced the program at such a young age. She recognized that colleges and some high schools offer such opportunities and said it would be great if they could be offered to other students more frequently.
Nature’s Way Educators
Dr. Wells also interviewed two of the educators who were instrumental in the success of Classes Duo.
Dawn Kunkel was the art teacher who built the curriculum alongside French educator Juliette Blache. She organized the outreach to Nature’s Way parents for the Legacy project.
She said the following about the program:
It was incredible … one of the big highlights of my life! I photographed probably everything that the kids did.
What has been so great about having gone through Classes Duo is seeing all of the sort of recognition that the Delaneys are now getting in Knoxville.
Dr. Monique Y. Wells and Dawn Kunkel at the Jardin Atlantique in Paris
© Wells International Foundation
Matt Hilton was the science teacher whose contributions to the curriculum made Classes Duo a true STEAM education initiative.
He commented on the program as follows:
I think the opportunity for the students learn French was a huge benefit of it. This language was not being offered at Nature's Way at the time.
Also, there was the opportunity to interact with children from a different country and get a new perspective. I know we have the connection through Delaney, but connecting with people who live all the way on the other side of the world and have a completely different experience helps you broaden your horizons.
Then, there was all of the stuff they got to learn about Delaney. I think it really highlighted his work. They probably would not have had that depth of exposure had they not participated in the program.
I didn't come on on the actual trip, and I'm sure that traveling over to France was a huge experience for the kids as well. Seeing how it impacted them is one of the things that stands out the most to me.
Matt Hilton presenting a science lesson on photography
Image courtesy of Dawn Kunkel
The Beauford Delaney-inspired artwork created by the French and U.S. Classes Duo students was publicly displayed in Paris and in Knoxville. This foreshadowed the experience of the Teens of Color Abroad students who participated in the creative writing workshop that Dr. Wells delivered in Aix-en-Provence in July 2026. Their works are to be displayed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in an exhibition called Between Cézanne and Delaney: A Summer in Aix from September 9-20, 2026.
Resonance: Interpreting Dark Rapture in Sound and Music
Dark Rapture may well be the most fascinating portrait of James Baldwin ever created.
Dark Rapture
(1941) Oil on masonite
Collection of halley k harrisburg and Michael Rosenfeld, New York
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
In July 2025, Les Amis published an article exploring the many scholarly interpretations of Dark Rapture presented in Amy J. Elias' Speculative Light: The Arts of Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin (2025).
Today, the Wells International Foundation is presenting the first known musical interpretation of this work.
A few weeks ago, we published “Washington Square I,” an original composition and video created by George Henry for the Resonance program that we are developing as part of The Beauford Delaney Project.
“Dark Rapture” is Henry’s second original composition for Resonance: Art & Sound in Conversation.
For Henry, the painting became an exploration of the tension between distance and presence, nostalgia and melancholy, and the surreal and the human. Beginning with a warm, nostalgic piano, they layered field recordings made around Delaney's former studio at 181 Greene Street with strings, brass, choir, synths, and guitar. Familiar sounds are transformed through pitching, reverb, and other processing, creating an atmosphere that is at once grounded in everyday experience and distinctly otherworldly.
Throughout the composition, Henry was also drawn to the idea of breath and human presence. Ghostly vocal textures, environmental recordings, and a shimmering reverb that makes the music seem to breathe contribute to their effort to capture the humanity and essence of the person at the center of Delaney's surreal portrait.
Listen to them express these sentiments and more in the Studio Notes they recorded for the composition.
Henry is hard at work on their third composition, which is inspired by another of Beauford’s paintings of Washington Square.
Washington Square I—Launching Resonance: Art and Sound in Conversation
Untitled (Washington Square)
(1952) Oil on canvas
Greenville County Museum of Art
Greenville, SC
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
One of the aspirations of The Beauford Delaney Project is to preserve and deepen our understanding of Beauford’s extraordinary artistic legacy.
Another is to explore how that legacy continues to inspire new acts of creativity.
Today, we are delighted to share an important milestone toward that goal.
This week, we published “Washington Square I,” an original composition and video by George Henry. It is the first musical contribution to Resonance: Art and Sound in Conversation, an ongoing series of The Beauford Delaney Project that explores contemporary creative responses to Beauford's work.
The “Art and Sound” component of the Resonance series was markedly influenced by Wadada Leo Smith, whose reflections on composing music inspired by one of Beauford's paintings helped shape our thinking about how artists might enter into sustained dialogue with his work. Through Resonance, The Beauford Delaney Project provides an ongoing framework for that kind of engagement, inviting musicians to contribute both original compositions and reflections on their creative process to a growing digital archive.
Henry, a recent graduate of Amherst College with degrees in Black Studies and Computer Science, is the first musician to contribute to this initiative. After spending time with Beauford's paintings, they chose one of Beauford’s Washington Square works as the inspiration for their composition. (Like many subjects that captivated Beauford throughout his career, he painted Washington Square multiple times.)
Instead of seeking to translate the painting into music, “Washington Square I” is an artistic response to it—a conversation across disciplines in which music and painting retain their own voices while enriching one another.
Documenting Creative Practice
An important aspect of Resonance is that it documents not only the finished work but also the creative journey that led to it.
Alongside “Washington Square I,” Henry recorded a companion Studio Notes video and wrote a narrative in which they reflect on their process, discuss their encounter with Beauford's painting, and offer viewers a glimpse into the development of the composition.
By preserving these reflections alongside the music, The Beauford Delaney Project is creating an archive of creative practice as well as creative work. We anticipate that these conversations will become valuable resources for future artists, scholars, educators, and anyone interested in understanding how Beauford continues to inspire new generations.
This commitment to documenting process reflects a broader vision for the project. Whether through music, creative writing, or other modes of inventive collaboration, Resonance seeks to illuminate not only what artists create, but also how they think, observe, question, and respond.
A Growing Archive
The publication of “Washington Square I” follows closely on the release of original writings by students from Teens of Color Abroad, created during our July 2026 workshop at the Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing in Aix-en-Provence. These works are the inaugural contributions to our Resonance: Art and Writing in Conversation series.
Together, these contributions mark the beginning of a living archive of contemporary creative responses to Beauford's work—an archive that will continue to grow as musicians, writers, scholars, and artists from diverse disciplines add their own voices to the conversation.
Henry is already at work on a second composition inspired by another of Beauford Delaney's Washington Square paintings, continuing an exploration of a subject that fascinated Beauford himself.
We are deeply grateful to Henry for helping inaugurate this new chapter of Resonance: Art and Sound in Conversation. Their generosity, curiosity, and artistic imagination have helped establish a model for the kinds of interdisciplinary conversations we will nurture in the years ahead.
Read Henry’s narrative about their creative process HERE.
And stay tuned as The Beauford Delaney Project continues to build a living archive of contemporary works created through thoughtful reflection and dialogue with Beauford's art.
Resonance Begins: Young Writers in Conversation with Beauford
When ten New York City high school students traveled to southern France this summer, they didn't simply learn about Beauford—they entered into a conversation with his art.
The illustrated poems and narratives and the recorded recitations created during Teens of Color Abroad’s (TOCA’s) two-week excursion to Aix-en-Provence mark an important milestone for The Beauford Delaney Project. They are the first contributions to Resonance, a growing collection of creative responses inspired by Beauford's life and work.
“Watching” and rendition of The Eye
Text and illustration by Grace De-Souza
Image courtesy of Teens of Color Abroad
All rights reserved*
When I first envisioned The Beauford Delaney Project, my conversations with colleagues and collaborative partners always centered on undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students engaging with Beauford's life and work.
But when I was asked if I wanted to provide an opportunity for TOCA youth to experience Beauford’s magic and introduce him to the Leo Marchutz school in the process, I happily accepted the invitation.
This experience broadened my vision for the project. The thoughtfulness of the students' observations, the originality of their poems and narratives, and the confidence with which they shared their work convinced me that high school students—and other community groups of similar age—also have an important place in this creative conversation.
One discovery was especially meaningful. When TOCA's documentarian later shared photographs of the students' illustrated writings, I noticed that two students had chosen to write about paintings that had been introduced only during the orientation session before the trip to Aix-en-Provence - Can Fire in the Park and Untitled (oil on raincoat fragment).
Can Fire in the Park
Text and illustration by Derek Tirado
Image courtesy of Teens of Color Abroad
All rights reserved*
“Strokes”inspired by Untitled (oil on raincoat fragment)
Text and illustration by Alyssa Quiles
Image courtesy of Teens of Color Abroad
All rights reserved*
I was equally delighted to discover that several students had created works inspired by images in the Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition catalog they received at the conclusion of the workshop.
“Life at Sea” inspired by Grèce
Text and illustration by Fatima Salgado
Image courtesy of Teens of Color Abroad
All rights reserved*
These unexpected choices indicated that the students' engagement with Beauford's art extended beyond the paintings we discussed together that afternoon.
For me, they also affirmed that creative encounters with his work can continue long after a workshop ends.
Resonance has found its first voices!
Explore the photo gallery for the 2026 Writing from Art workshop HERE.
*Reproduction or alteration without prior written consent is strictly prohibited.
A Look Back at Beauford-Inspired Verse
As poets gather at the UT Downtown Gallery in Knoxville for an ekphrastic poetry reading inspired by the Degrees of Separation exhibition, I am reminded that long before the launch of The Beauford Delaney Project, the Les Amis blog has featured poems and essays by writers who found inspiration in Beauford's life and art.
In celebration of today's poetry reading in Knoxville, I’m sharing links to earlier posts that feature poems and images of the works that inspired them.
Click on the links to enjoy the poetry and associated narratives.
Cid Corman’s Poetic Tribute to Beauford
Chartres
(1954) Oil on paperboard
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
Life
Nativity Scene
(1961) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
Grievances from a Soul of Sorrow
Untitled
(1962-1964) Gouache on paper
Signed and dated "Paris, 1964"
Inscribed: "for Amy(?) Erica + Tully, Paris August 20, 1962, with fond regards"
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
Sunlight Drifters
Untitled
(1966) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
Woman in an Abstract Field - After Beauford Delaney
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
Teens of Color Abroad Discover Beauford
Teens of Color Abroad (TOCA) is a U.S. nonprofit organization dedicated to offering students of color immersive global language learning and cultural exchange opportunities. Through four distinct programs, they are changing the world one travel experience at a time.
Student wearing a TOCA t-shirt in Aix-en-Provence
© Entrée to Black Paris
The Wells International Foundation (WIF) and TOCA collaborated for the first time this summer through WIF’s Entrée to Black Paris Cultural Awareness Program. Entrée to Black Paris (ETBP) presented a creative writing workshop for ten students from TOCA’s two-week high school study abroad program, using Beauford Delaney’s life and artwork as their creative anchor.
And WIF is providing a dedicated space for the students’ writing and artwork on The Beauford Delaney Project’s digital hub.
TOCA students participated in a program entitled “Painting in Provence: A Seminar in Vision” that is offered by the Leo Marchutz School of Painting & Drawing in Aix-en-Provence, France.
Entrance to the Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing
© Entrée to Black Paris
Plaque for Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing
© Entrée to Black Paris
Prior to their arrival in Aix, ETBP provided students with an orientation exercise that gave an overview of Beauford’s life story and introduced them to his work. The students responded to questions about three selected paintings and works on paper to prepare them for the creative writing they were to undertake during their time abroad.
The day before the workshop, Leo Marchutz Board President and Director of Artistic Studies Alan Roberts taught the students a lesson on color theory during which he talked about Beauford.
Color Theory session with Director of Artistic Studies Alan Roberts
Image courtesy of Teens of Color Abroad (TOCA)
Display of several Beauford Delaney works
© Entrée to Black Paris
Dr. Monique Y. Wells delivered the “Writing from Art” workshop the following day. She discussed the orientation exercise with the students and gave a brief presentation that
described why she is so passionate about Beauford,
demonstrated the evolution of Beauford’s artistic practice, and
introduced the four works of art that were to serve as the inspiration for their creative writing.
Each student selected one of the four artworks to spark their creativity. Once their pieces were written, everyone took turns presenting their work to the entire group.
Alyssa Quiles on Untitled (1959)
© Entrée to Black Paris
Derek Tirado on The Eye (1965)
© Entrée to Black Paris
Annabella Hernandez Lopez on Composition 16 (1954-1956)
© Entrée to Black Paris
Saliou Diop on Untitled (Self-portrait) (1944)
© Entrée to Black Paris
Participants in the Marchutz School’s five-week “Painting in Provence: Seminar in Vision” program for adults and adults from TOCA and the Marchutz school—including Director Alan Roberts—also participated in the workshop. They were just as inspired as TOCA students and presented their writing to the group as well.
TOCA Director of Global Programs Miriam Piña on The Eye (1965)
© Entrée to Black Paris
Leo Marchutz Director Alan Roberts on The Eye (1965)
© Entrée to Black Paris
After the workshop, Dr. Wells distributed copies of the catalog from the Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition that WIF mounted in Paris in 2016. Some students were inspired to write new creative pieces about other works of art from that show.
The students are now immortalizing their words on drawing paper, paired with their own illustrations. These pieces, along with videos of the students reciting their poetry and prose, will soon be available for viewing on The Beauford Delaney Project’s digital hub.
WIF views this inspiring collection as the true kickoff to the Project’s mission: to establish a vibrant, multimedia platform for research and creative projects inspired by Beauford’s legacy.
Beauford and James Weldon Johnson
Growing up in Knoxville, Beauford learned about James Weldon Johnson and grew to greatly admire him.
James Weldon Johnson by Carl Van Vechten
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division,
Carl Van Vechten Collection
Public domain
He heard many stories about Johnson, who used to visit the home of Beauford's high school principal, Charles Cansler.
Cansler was well connected in Boston and provided Beauford with letters of introduction to influential people in the city when he learned that Beauford planned to move there in 1923.
Three years later, Beauford had the chance to meet Johnson in that city.
The encounter took place at Boston's Old City Hall, where a performance of Johnson's poem "Creation" was staged on the evening of November 27, 1926.
Old Boston City Hall
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, MA-860
Public domain
Biographer David Leeming describes the event as follows:
"... Johnson's African-American dramatic musical version of the Creation was presented by Serge Koussevitsky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra to enthusiastic audiences in New York and Boston. Beauford was at a Boston performance and he introduced himself to Johnson afterward."
The New York Times published an extensive account of the performance. It reported that
"An old-time negro "folk-sermon," as embodied in James Weldon Johnson's poem "The Creation," with music by Louis Gruenberg, will be performed by the League of Composers on the evening of Nov. 27 in Town Hall, with Serge Koussevitzky of the Boston Symphony Orchestra as conductor.
Read the full-length NYT article HERE.
Of the numerous contemporary renditions of "The Creation" available for viewing/listening online, I have selected three that I particularly enjoyed.
Find them below.
The Calypso
Run by Trinidad-native Connie Williams, the Calypso is described by biographer David Leeming as "a small restaurant across from the Provincetown Playhouse on MacDougal Street" in Greenwich Village.
Provincetown Playhouse, 133 MacDougal Street, Manhattan
29 December 1936
Berenice Abbott for Works Progress Administration
Image in public domain
A photograph of its façade, published by Trinidad & Tobago Newsday, shows a modest, basement-level storefront with a worn street number and tropical decor on either side of the entrance (view image HERE).
Find images of Connie Williams inside the Calypso by Berenice Abbott (circa 1948) HERE ...
... and HERE (Williams is wearing a patterned dress).
Leeming devotes a single paragraph to the restaurant (which he calls a "café) in Amazing Grace, his biography of Beauford. He devotes almost two entire pages to the establishment in James Baldwin, his biography of Baldwin.
Beauford introduced Baldwin to Williams in 1943 after Baldwin's stepfather died and Baldwin moved from Harlem to Greenwich Village. Williams hired Baldwin as a waiter, and Leeming indicates that she became a surrogate mother to him. He says that Baldwin, Beauford, and a young Black writer named Smith Oliver "held court" at the Calypso after hours.
Beauford produced at least three portraits of Baldwin during this period.
Portrait of James Baldwin
(1944) Pastel on paper
Knoxville Museum of Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
Portrait of James Baldwin
(1945) Oil on canvas
Philadelphia Museum of Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
James Baldwin
(1945) Pastel on paper
Photo credit: Ben Conant
Courtesy of Macdowell
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
In Amazing Grace, Leeming describes Beauford's fondness for the Calypso due to the multiple races of people with various sexual proclivities who made up its clientele. He provides a "laundry list" of intellectuals and celebrities who frequented the place, including C. L. R. James, Claude McKay, Alain Locke, Malcolm X, and Henry Miller. Even Beauford's brother, Joseph, was an occasional customer, though the two did not socialize when they were both present.
Leeming also describes costume parties that Williams organized and that Beauford loved to attend. He says that Beauford often played the guitar and sang at these events.
In Baldwin: A Love Story, Nicholas Boggs states that Beauford and Williams threw Baldwin a goodbye party at the Calypso before he left for France in November 1948.
Fun Facts about Beauford: The Boston Years
Compared to other periods of Beauford Delaney’s life, his years in Boston (1923 - 1929) are the least well documented in the historical record.
Today, in the first of a series of articles that present "fun facts" about him, I am taking a look at this critical period of his adult life.
Almost immediately upon moving to Boston, Beauford entered into a circle of "high society folks"—White and Black—who would "direct his sociopolitical education." He met and socialized with people such as Mr. and Mrs. William Shakespeare Sparrow (Black), Mr. and Mrs. Bryant (relatives of poet William Cullen Bryant - White), and George and Josephine St-Pierre Ruffin (Black).
Beauford met writer Countee Cullen in Boston, long before he or Cullen would meet and deeply influence a young James Baldwin. It was Cullen who first introduced to Beauford the idea of going to Paris.
Countee Cullen
1927 R. W. Bullock
Image in the public domain
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Roland Hayes and James Weldon Johnson were two singers that Beauford greatly admired. He had the temerity to introduce himself to both of them after concerts in Boston - Hayes in 1923 and Johnson in 1926.
Roland Hayes
1929 J. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs
Image in the public domain
Source: Wikimedia Commons
James Weldon Johnson
1932 Carl Van Vechten
Image in the public domain
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Biographer David Leeming reports that Beauford saw Josephine Baker perform in Boston "early in his Boston stay," admired her, and followed her career from that point forward.
Josephine Baker
1927 Photographer unknown
Image in the public domain
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Baker performed in Sissle and Blake's In Bamville (eventually renamed The Chocolate Dandies) in 1924, and the show was staged at Boston's Tremont Theater in June of that year.
Because of his profound modesty, Beauford turned down several opportunities to serve as a live model for artists in exchange for an opportunity to paint.
Read about Beauford's Boston haunts here:
Two Buildings for Beauford
As 2025 comes to a close, Knoxville continues to honor Beauford and his family in one of the most auspicious ways possible—by working on buildings named after them.
That's right - buildings (in plural)!
In August 2021, ground was broken on the Delaney Museum at Beck.
The Beck Cultural Exchange Center acquired the Delaney family's last homestead in 2015 with the intent to restore the home and grounds. Since that time, Beck President Reneé Kesler has led the effort to turn the property into an international museum that will honor Beauford, his brother, Joseph (who was also a painter), and the entire Delaney family.
Watch Reverend Kesler tell the story of how she acquired the home HERE.
The museum was originally projected to open in Autumn 2022. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic and escalating construction costs, work on the project has been postponed several times.
Construction finally began in earnest on November 18, 2025.
Beck released the following photos when it announced the commencement of work.
All images courtesy of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center
See images of the work being done at the Delaney Museum at Beck by clicking HERE.
In another area of Knoxville, a much larger project is now nearing completion.
The Beauford Delaney Building is part of the Knoxville Multi-Use Stadium project in Knoxville's Old City. We first wrote about it in February 2022.
Construction had not begun at that time.
Today, the nine-story, mixed-use building, which has been dubbed "The DELANEY," has 47 one- or two-bedroom condominiums and over 20,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Advertisements boast of indoor and outdoor entertainment areas, stadium and city views in every direction, large terraces and spacious balconies, and a state-of-the-art fitness center.
The condos range in price from $750,000 to $2.5 million.
All images courtesy of David Butler
Though construction is not quite complete, some residents are already moving into the building.
See images of the condos HERE and watch a local news report about the building HERE.
This is Les Amis' last posting for 2025. We wish you the happiest of holiday seasons and look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
Celebrating Music
On June 21 of each year, the City of Paris celebrates Summer Solstice with the Fête de la Musique (Music Festival).
In recognition of this year's festival, which is the 44th edition of the celebration, I am posting links to several Les Amis blog posts that highlight Beauford's love for all kinds of music.
(1968) Oil on canvas
Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester
Photograph by Joshua Nefsky; Courtesy of
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Notre Dame and Fauré's Requiem
Enjoy!
Beauford and Langston Hughes
I recently received notification that the Nevada Museum of Art would include work by Beauford in its exhibition entitled When Langston Hughes Came to Town.
I immediately went to the museum's Website to see what information I could find about the premise of the show and why Beauford is being included in it.
The copy on the Web page indicates that the exhibition will be divided into three parts that explore:
1) Hughes' relationship with the State of Nevada
2) Work created by leading artists of the Harlem Renaissance who had close ties to Hughes
3) Contemporary artists who were inspired by Hughes and made work about his life
A slider near the bottom of the page shows Beauford's portrait of Ella Fitzgerald as one of the works to be displayed in the show.
(1968) Oil on canvas
Permanent collection of the SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah
Gift of Dr. Walter O. and Mrs. Linda J. Evans
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Beauford's name is mentioned in reference to the artists of the Harlem Renaissance with whom Hughes had close ties.
Not being familiar with any close relationship between the two men, I set out to investigate what this might have entailed.
I did not find any mention of Beauford in either of the two volumes of The Life of Langston Hughes, a biography by Arnold Rampersad.
I only found a few mentions of Hughes in Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney by David Leeming, the only Beauford Delaney biography that currently exists.
Leeming says that Beauford encountered Hughes at "the old stable at 306 West 141st Street" in Harlem, which was known simply as "306" by the Black intellectuals who gathered there.
He says that Beauford read "whatever was published in journals by Langston Hughes."
And he mentions that Hughes attended the party celebrating the production of James Baldwin's The Amen Corner in Paris in 1965, which Beauford attended as well.
In 1948, Hughes authored the radio transcripts for an NBC summer replacement series called Swing Time at the Savoy, which was recorded at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. Ella Fitzgerald and her then husband, Ray Brown performed there on July 28, 1948.
I reached out to the museum to request information to supplement my findings.
Director of Communications Valerie Primeau responded, informing me that Beauford's portrait of Fitzgerald will be the only work of his in the exhibition.
She also said:
"Although Langston Hughes and Beauford Delaney were prominent figures during the Harlem Renaissance and had shared mutual respect for their art practices, documented interactions are limited.
"This portrait of Ella Fitzgerald was selected because she is one of the greatest jazz vocalists who often performed in the Savoy Room during the period before receiving her major break in the 1930s at the Apollo Theater. Her iconic voice, visually presented with the bold application of color, shows how she illuminated concert halls and jazz venues.
"Merging the histories of these three artists envelops Hughes’s appreciation of jazz and blues and core expressions of Black Life."
When Langston Hughes Came to Town opens today - May 3, 2025.
It will be on display through February 15, 2026.
Beauford and Loïs Mailou Jones
While performing an Internet search last week, I came across an image of a painting by Loïs Mailou Jones that had been erroneously attributed to Beauford.
by Loïs Mailou Jones
The image of The Pink Table Cloth clearly shows Jones' signature at the bottom right corner of the painting, so I presume the error was clerical.
The vivid hues in this work first made me think of Beauford's mastery of the juxtaposition of colors on his canvases.
It then caused me to remember that the two artists knew each other and had several things in common (in addition to being fabulous colorists).
Loïs Mailou Jones
(1940) Casein on board
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Fair use claim
They both
- took classes at the Massachusetts Normal Art School in Boston in the 1920s,
- spent considerable time in France,
- created multiple self-portraits,
- represented African art and artifacts in their artwork,
- traveled extensively (Beauford in Western Europe; Jones in Haïti and Subsaharan Africa), and
- produced hundreds of works in their lifetimes.
Both also had their work featured in the Studio Museum in Harlem's Explorations in the City of Light: African-American Artists in Paris 1945-1965 exhibition that was also shown in Chicago, New Orleans, Fort Worth, and Milwaukee in 1996-1997.
Beauford Delaney
(1944) Oil on canvas
Art Institute of Chicago
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
By permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
In the biography Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney, author David Leeming mentions Jones twice in the chapter called "Boston and Harlem" but does not state outright that the two artists were friends or even communicated directly with each other.
A note found in the Beauford Delaney Papers at the University of Tennessee Knoxville provides evidence that they did have a social connection. It is written on a card that Jones used when she was a professor at Howard University.
Beauford Delaney Papers, MS.3967.
University of Tennessee Libraries, Knoxville,
Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives.*
Image by Wells International Foundation
Jones wrote the month in French (15 août is August 15) and used the salutation Cher (Dear) in addressing Beauford. She says she is "so sorry" to have missed seeing him.
The closing salutation is also in French (A bientôt - See you soon).
Because she joined the faculty at Howard in 1930 and worked there until 1977, and because no envelope (and therefore no postmark) was associated with the card, we don't know when this encounter was to have taken place.
*Conditions Governing Use
Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator.
Held in the Beauford Delaney Papers, MS.3967,
Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives,
University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The Philosophy of Art Seminars
In Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney, biographer David Leeming tells us that Beauford held "Philosophy of Art" seminars for several months at his Greene Street studio in Greenwich Village.
Beauford in his Greene Street studio, New York City, 1944
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
He describes the first seminar in great detail, painting the scene of a candle-lit room filled with portraits of famous African Americans where guests listened to Beauford lecture on "The Enigma of Art," learn how to sketch with charcoal (a live model was present), and enjoy entertainment.
He then informs us that several "hostesses" served tea and caviar to attendees.
I was intrigued by the idea that Beauford would have the means to offer caviar at an event and curious about the hostesses who served it.
Leeming mentioned seven women who served in this role. I was able to find information about three of them.
Nell Occomy Becker was the youngest of three sisters born to Walter Calvert Occomy and Nellie White Occomy in Providence, RI. She graduated with a teaching degree from the State Normal School (now Rhode Island College), and moved to NYC because of the discriminatory practices of Providence public schools. There, she taught junior high school and enrolled in a post-graduate program at the Teachers’ College.
Nell Occomy Becker
Source of original image:
Opportunity: Journal of Negro Life, November 1936, p. 347.
Fair use claim
In the 1930s, Occomy developed skills as an arts and culture writer. She wrote profiles of Black playwrights and served as editor-in-chief of The Krinon, the publication for the Black women educator sorority, Phi Delta Kappa.
Another hostess, Mrs. Gertrude Robinson, was a charter member of Phi Delta Kappa and served as First Supreme Anti-Basileus, then Supreme Basileus at various times from the 1920s - 1940s.
Hostess Dorothy Gates is mentioned several times in Amazing Grace. She and Beauford met through their mutual connection with Alfred Stieglitz, Dorothy Norman, and Georgia O'Keeffe, and they became quite close. Her death in 1956 disturbed him greatly.
While Leeming does not provide precise dates for the months that Beauford hosted the seminars, I infer from his text that they took place during 1949, and perhaps, early 1950.
Happy Holidays from Les Amis de Beauford Delaney
Christmas is fast approaching!
This year, Les Amis is marking the season with jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker's rendition of "White Christmas."
Parker recorded this iconic tune at the Royal Roost in 1948 in New York City. His backup band consisted of Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Al Haig on piano, Tommy Potter on bass, and Max Roach on drums.
Beauford depicted Parker in two paintings created 10 years apart.
(1968) Oil on canvas
Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester
Photograph by Joshua Nefsky; Courtesy of
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1958) Oil on canvas
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of the James F. Dicke Family
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Les Amis will return in January 2025.
We wish you and yours the best during the end-of-year holidays!
Beauford and the Petrucci Family Foundation
When I learned that the Petrucci Family Foundation (PFF) owns the two Beauford Delaney works being shown in the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art's American Duet: Jazz and Abstract Art exhibition, I immediately reached out to the foundation to learn more about its interest in Beauford.
(1956) Gouache on illustration board
PFF Collection
Signed and dated in ink, lower right
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Director Claudia Volpe graciously granted Les Amis a live interview to respond to my questions. She told me that PFF was founded by Jim Patrucci in 2006 and that it centers its philanthropic activity on the development of inner city youth.
In 2012, PFF decided to begin collecting art. Petrucci's first advisor was Berrisford Boothe, an artist, art historian, and professor of Art & Design at Lehigh University. Because of their recognition of the enormous disparities in representation of Black artists, they decided to pursue collecting art in support of these artists while fulfilling the foundation's overarching mission of providing education for the communities it serves.
Over 200 artists are currently represented in the PFF Collection. The pieces are quite diverse - they date from the 1880s through the present and represent all types of media. Petrucci has a pension for collecting works by contemporary artists who are in their "twilight years" and have not had a major exhibition or attracted major patrons or collectors.
PFF is also committed to art preservation.
Regarding Beauford's work, both of the pieces in the collection were acquired at auction. PFF is interested in acquiring additional works, both figurative and abstract.
(c. 1962-1964) Watercolor on paper
PFF Collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The Petrucci Family Foundation has a rigorous loan program -- it has loaned works to over 36 exhibitions since the collection's inception. Some of these loans support the implementation of the PFF African American Art History curriculum, which is the product of three collaborations that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic and the resurgence of racial justice movements in the wake of George Floyd's murder.
The curriculum aims to bridge educational gaps and enhance cultural literacy by integrating the PFF Collection into university art history, museum studies, and Africana studies courses. It is designed to relieve the burden that professors might feel re: creating a course in African-American art, particularly if they are not experts in the field.
Beauford was an important focus for the 2022 University of Mary Washington exhibition called Healing through the Preservation of Our Histories and Ourselves. This show was co-curated by university students, faculty, and community members with the intent to encourage decompression and healing after the collective trauma experienced during the pandemic. Though the collection's Beauford Delaney works were not available for display during this show, students examined Beauford's struggle with maintaining mental health as part of the exhibition theme.
Beauford's work was included in the 2024 Mobility: African-American Artists Abroad exhibition at Truman State University. The show focused on African-American artists who broadened their artistic practice through influences experienced when they moved to Mexico, Africa, and Europe.
Director Volpe has a deep interest in Beauford's work. She continues to encourage universities to include his story and his art in their customized course work, even if his physical works are not available for viewing.
David Leeming Presents the Bond of the Unusual Door
On May 12, 2024, David A. Leeming delivered a livestreamed presentation called "Jimmy and Beauford: The Bond of the Unusual Door" at a gathering organized by Stonington Free Library in Stonington, Connecticut.
The event was promoted as a talk during which Leeming would speak about the "life-changing and life-long friendship between James Baldwin and the artist Beauford Delaney."
Because Leeming is a biographer of Baldwin and Beauford, I looked forward to hearing his focused take on the relationship between the two men. He beautifully wove the theme of "the unusual door" through his presentation and punctuated his talk with images of paintings of Beauford or by Beauford.
Leeming attributed the phrase "the bond of the unusual door" to Baldwin. The first passage through this door occurred when Baldwin met Beauford for the first time as a depressed, 16-year-old high school student. Leeming described how Beauford's relationship with Baldwin grew and deepened and spoke poignantly about how Beauford helped Baldwin develop as a creative artist.
The second passage took place when Beauford joined Baldwin in Paris and the roles the two men previously played in each other's lives were reversed. Beauford now depended on Baldwin for introductions to people and advice on navigating life in the city.
Leeming then described his own experience with "the unusual door" when met Beauford for the first time. Charged by Baldwin to bring Beauford to Istanbul by car in 1966, he experienced firsthand the beauty and torment of Beauford's existence. After a harrowing road trip, they joined Baldwin and spent several days together in Turkey. Beauford painted a portrait of Leeming during that visit.
Screenshot from Stonington Free Library livestream
(1966) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Leeming talked about Baldwin's acquisition of property in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in southern France and Beauford's frequent visits there, particularly when he was physically or mentally fragile. He mentioned Beauford's Rosa Parks series, his love affair with the color "yellow," and his eventual commitment to Sainte-Anne's psychiatric hospital. And he spoke about Baldwin's reaction to Beauford's death.
In closing, Leeming told how he and Baldwin's brother, David, sat up with Baldwin during the final days of his battle with stomach cancer. Leeming said that much of their conversation was about Beauford and revealed that Baldwin was working on a novel about Beauford at that time. Unfortunately, he had made precious little progress on this work by the time he died.
The audience posed many questions after Leeming concluded his talk, but they were not audible on the live stream. My biggest takeaway from the Q&A period was that Leeming's biography of Beauford, entitled Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney, will be republished in 2024 by Karma Books with a forward by Hilton Als.
Rest assured that Les Amis will report on this new edition of Beauford's biography as soon as I obtain and read it!
Beauford at the Paris College of Art Commencement Ceremony
A few weeks ago, Alana Manga, Registrar and Director of Student Success of the Paris College of Art (PCA), invited me to deliver this year's undergraduate commencement address.
Her message included the following statements:
Paris College of Art is an international college of art and design located in the 10eme arrondissement in Paris. We offer American undergraduate and graduate degrees (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts) in Communication Design, Photography, Fine Arts, Interior Design and Fashion. The student body represents 51 different countries, and a similar number of cultures.
Your support of Beauford Delaney, in addition to the entrepreneurial spirit that led to Entrée to Black Paris and the Wells International Foundation are incredible accomplishments. Having met you at an American University of Paris event, I think your wealth of knowledge and insights would be valued by the graduating artist and designers encountering a world grappling with war.
I was honored to accept this invitation and delighted to base my speech on various aspects of Beauford's life and art.
The ceremony took place on May 10, 2024 at the Club d'Etoile, near Paris' Arc de Triomphe in the 8th arrondissement.
© Wells International Foundation
The weather was perfect and the house was full.
PCA Provost Dr. Michael Meere opened the ceremony with the first congratulatory discourse of the day.
© Wells International Foundation
Two members of the Class of 2024 - Ofir Avita, BFA Photography and Kirstin Ceralde, BFA Fine Art - then addressed the audience. Both students delivered thoughtful and amusing speeches that were vigorously applauded.
Dr. Meere announced the winners of student service awards and the Provost Award for Excellence in Teaching and then introduced me. He provided the perfect segway to the information I shared with the audience about Beauford.
I first congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to view themselves and their work as sources of POWER – POWER to bring about positive change in the world.
Through the evocation of events and relationships that Beauford experienced, I then invited them to create and use their art as a source of healing, a means of bridging cultural gaps, a catalyst for social change, and a unifying force in the face of negative preconceived notions and emotions.
© Wells International Foundation
Watch the first segment of the ~20-minute address below.
(Huge thanks to Alana Manga for supplying this video.)
Following my address, Dr. Meere conferred the degrees for BFA students in Communication Design, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Interior Design, and Photography as well as Certificates in Communications Design, Interior Design, Fashion Design, and Fine Arts.
Dr. Anthony Pinder, Vice Provost, Internationalization and Equity at Emerson College, conferred the degrees for BFA students in the joint Emerson/PCA global Film Art program.
Dr. Meere then invited the students to move the tassles on their graduation caps from right to left, and the ceremony was concluded. The students celebrated with a traditional cap toss and shouts of joy.
Several members of the audience, including PCA faculty, graduates, and family members of graduates, approached me during the reception after the ceremony to tell me how much they enjoyed the stories I shared about Beauford and the effect his art has had in the four areas described above.
I am thankful for such an extraordinary opportunity to extend Beauford's legacy!
© Wells International Foundation
Jimmy and Beauford: The Bond of the Unusual Door
In last week's post, I mentioned that I recently learned of an upcoming livestreamed interview with Beauford's (and James Baldwin's) biographer, David A. Leeming, during which Leeming will discuss the relationship between Beauford and James Baldwin.
Today, I'm sharing details about this interview.
Leeming met Beauford when Baldwin asked him to collect Beauford in Paris and bring him to Istanbul in July 1966. He got to know Beauford quite well during the voyage and the time they spent together once they arrived in Turkey. I wrote briefly about this in the blog post entitled "Beauford in Istanbul".
(1966) Oil on canvas
Image from Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney book jacket
Courtesy of Ernie Bynum and Denis Costin (Ernden)
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Leeming is a resident of Stonington, Connecticut. The interview will be hosted by the Stonington Free Library on May 12, 2024 from 5 PM to 6 PM Eastern Time. Online event pages are touting it as Leeming "marking" the 100th anniversary of Baldwin's birth (August 2, 1924).
This 1-hour hybrid event is free and open to the public. No registration is required. Those wanting to join the live stream can do so HERE.
For additional information, send email to Karla Umland at karla[at]stoningtonfreelibrary[dot]org.