Beauford on View at the Centre Pompidou
In 2011, I reported that the Centre Pompidou holds one of Beauford's abstract expressionist paintings on reserve. It was donated to the museum by M. and Mme du Closel, who were devoted patrons of Beauford.
I am thrilled to report that the painting is now on display! It is part of the Multiple Modernities 1905-1970 exposition (also called Plural Modalities) that will hang until January 2015.
Monique and Beauford's Untitled (1957) Oil on canvas
© Discover Paris!
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This work hangs in a short corridor (Traverse G) between Rooms 31 and 34 on the 5th floor of the museum. Because it is not displayed in a room, it can be difficult to find. I had to ask at the visitor's information area (4th floor) where the painting is hung and was dismayed to learn that neither Beauford's name, nor a listing of the painting, appear in the official catalog for the exposition or the museum's Intranet. One of the attendants was kind enough to walk me to the exact location of the painting.
Location of Beauford's Painting
© Discover Paris!
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The label text copy presents the following information in English (translated from French):
For reasons unknown, the Pompidou Center has Beauford's name listed as Pierre Beauford-Delaney in its online data base. While they corrected this in the text for the painting and the biographical information presented about Beauford in French, I was disappointed to note that they neglected to correct it in the English translation.
The information presented about Beauford himself is scant and not quite accurate (he began his New York career by painting dancers and society women at Billy Pierce's Dancing School, not by painting jazz musicians). I had hoped for a more detailed description of the painting as well.
All that aside, the work is magnificent - it is well worth a trip to the museum to see it! The exposition is on display through January 26, 2015.
Centre Georges Pompidou
19 Rue Beaubourg
75004 Paris
Telephone: 01 44 78 12 33
Metro: Rambuteau, Hôtel de Ville, and Châtelet
Open every day except Tuesdays and May 1.
Hours: 11am-10pm. No tickets sold after 8pm.
I am thrilled to report that the painting is now on display! It is part of the Multiple Modernities 1905-1970 exposition (also called Plural Modalities) that will hang until January 2015.
© Discover Paris!
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This work hangs in a short corridor (Traverse G) between Rooms 31 and 34 on the 5th floor of the museum. Because it is not displayed in a room, it can be difficult to find. I had to ask at the visitor's information area (4th floor) where the painting is hung and was dismayed to learn that neither Beauford's name, nor a listing of the painting, appear in the official catalog for the exposition or the museum's Intranet. One of the attendants was kind enough to walk me to the exact location of the painting.
© Discover Paris!
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The label text copy presents the following information in English (translated from French):
African-American artist Pierre [sic] Beauford-Delaney studied in Boston then at the Art Student League in New York, with John Sloan. He joined the Harlem Renaissance movement, which was struggling for African-American emancipation, and started painting live portraits of jazz musicians playing in Harlem jazz clubs. He had settled in Paris by 1953, when he had gravitated toward abstract expressionism. In this work, the distinguishable blue figure in the thick swirl of predominantly red and yellow paint could be an animal.
For reasons unknown, the Pompidou Center has Beauford's name listed as Pierre Beauford-Delaney in its online data base. While they corrected this in the text for the painting and the biographical information presented about Beauford in French, I was disappointed to note that they neglected to correct it in the English translation.
The information presented about Beauford himself is scant and not quite accurate (he began his New York career by painting dancers and society women at Billy Pierce's Dancing School, not by painting jazz musicians). I had hoped for a more detailed description of the painting as well.
All that aside, the work is magnificent - it is well worth a trip to the museum to see it! The exposition is on display through January 26, 2015.
Centre Georges Pompidou
19 Rue Beaubourg
75004 Paris
Telephone: 01 44 78 12 33
Metro: Rambuteau, Hôtel de Ville, and Châtelet
Open every day except Tuesdays and May 1.
Hours: 11am-10pm. No tickets sold after 8pm.
Beauford's Agonie Solaire as Book Cover
I recently met Robert Tricoire, a retired French journalist who worked for the Cultural Service of the U.S. Embassy in Paris for several years. He knew Beauford well and was kind enough to invite me to his home to share some of his remembrances of Beauford with me.
Robert supervised a project that involved the translation of the works of American writers into French and the selection of paintings by American artists to serve as cover art for these books. One such work was Henry Pelling's Le Mouvement Ouvrier aux Etats-Unis, published in French in 1965. Beauford's abstract painting Agonie Solaire was selected as the cover for this book.
Book cover – Le Mouvement Ouvrier aux Etats-Unis
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
© Discover Paris!
The page after the title page reads:
The original edition of this work was published in the collection The Chicago History of American Civilization
directed by Daniel J. Boorstin, under the title:
American Labor.
Translation: Marie-Jean Béraud-Villars
The cover reproduces a work by the American painter
Beauford Delaney: Agonie Solaire (1963)
Verso of title page
© Discover Paris!
The rear of the book indicated the location of the printing company and the name of the publisher:
End Print
29 September 1965
on the presses of Gerard and Co. at Verviers (Belgium)
for Paris editor Pierre Seghers.
Editor no.: 1447
Last page of the book
© Discover Paris!
Robert supervised a project that involved the translation of the works of American writers into French and the selection of paintings by American artists to serve as cover art for these books. One such work was Henry Pelling's Le Mouvement Ouvrier aux Etats-Unis, published in French in 1965. Beauford's abstract painting Agonie Solaire was selected as the cover for this book.
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
© Discover Paris!
The page after the title page reads:
directed by Daniel J. Boorstin, under the title:
American Labor.
Translation: Marie-Jean Béraud-Villars
The cover reproduces a work by the American painter
Beauford Delaney: Agonie Solaire (1963)
© Discover Paris!
The rear of the book indicated the location of the printing company and the name of the publisher:
29 September 1965
on the presses of Gerard and Co. at Verviers (Belgium)
for Paris editor Pierre Seghers.
Editor no.: 1447
© Discover Paris!
Man in African Dress
I was privileged to view an original Beauford Delaney painting in a private collection in Paris.
Man in African Dress
(1972) Watercolor on Paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This work was shown at the Beauford Delaney: The Color Yellow exposition mounted by the High Museum in Atlanta, so it was a rare treat for me to be able to view it "up close and personally."
Identification sticker (rear)
© Discover Paris!
The current owner was kind enough allow me to photograph the painting, removing the frame to avoid reflections.
Beauford's signature (lower left)
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Dedication (lower right)
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Man in African Dress (detail)
(1972) Watercolor on Paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
He has only vague recollections of Beauford as being one among many visitors at his home when he was a child.
(1972) Watercolor on Paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This work was shown at the Beauford Delaney: The Color Yellow exposition mounted by the High Museum in Atlanta, so it was a rare treat for me to be able to view it "up close and personally."
© Discover Paris!
The current owner was kind enough allow me to photograph the painting, removing the frame to avoid reflections.
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1972) Watercolor on Paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
He has only vague recollections of Beauford as being one among many visitors at his home when he was a child.
Where to Find Beauford's Art: Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
A new exposition is being co-organized by the Flint Institute of Arts in Flint, Michigan and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan. It's called Point of View: African American Art from the Elliot and Kimberly Perry Collection and it will be shown from January 26, 2014 through April 13, 2014. Works by Beauford and his brother Joseph will be displayed as part of the Masterworks collection at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Contemporary works will be displayed at the Flint Institute of Arts.
The image below represents the painting by Beauford that will be shown:
Untitled
(1964) oil on canvas
25 x 21 inches
Collection of Elliot & Kimberly Perry
Image courtesy of Ashley Phifer
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
From the Flint Arts Organization Web site:
Ashley Phifer, Assistant Curator at the Flint Institute of Arts, has informed Les Amis that the museums in Flint and in Detroit are only an hour apart and both are cultural centers in their respective cities. Through this collaboration, they hope to foster an even larger sense of community. One can easily visit both museums in one day and experience the true impact of the collection. Both museums are excited about the story that these works tell and the experiences that the artists and the collectors have infused into them.
The catalog for the exposition includes two essays: one by Erica Moiah James, Assistant Professor, Yale University on the contemporary works in the Perry collection (Flint), and the other by Jacqueline Francis, Ph.D., Associate Professor, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, California on the Masterworks in the collection (Detroit). It will be available when the exhibition opens in January.
For more information, contact Ashley Phifer at .
The image below represents the painting by Beauford that will be shown:
(1964) oil on canvas
25 x 21 inches
Collection of Elliot & Kimberly Perry
Image courtesy of Ashley Phifer
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
From the Flint Arts Organization Web site:
Regarded as one of the most important collections of contemporary art in the country, the Elliot Perry Collection of African American Art represents over a decade of collecting art. The former NBA player started collecting, in 1996, such artists as John Biggers, Norman Lewis, Alma Thomas, Charles White, Jacob Lawrence, Beauford Delaney, Elizabeth Catlett, and Eldzier Cortor. In 2005, he shifted his focus to emerging, mid-career artists and has since added artists such as Kara Walker, Wangechi Mutu, Mickalene Thomas, Kehinde Wiley, Leslie Hewitt, Carrie Mae Weems, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye to his collection.
Ashley Phifer, Assistant Curator at the Flint Institute of Arts, has informed Les Amis that the museums in Flint and in Detroit are only an hour apart and both are cultural centers in their respective cities. Through this collaboration, they hope to foster an even larger sense of community. One can easily visit both museums in one day and experience the true impact of the collection. Both museums are excited about the story that these works tell and the experiences that the artists and the collectors have infused into them.
The catalog for the exposition includes two essays: one by Erica Moiah James, Assistant Professor, Yale University on the contemporary works in the Perry collection (Flint), and the other by Jacqueline Francis, Ph.D., Associate Professor, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, California on the Masterworks in the collection (Detroit). It will be available when the exhibition opens in January.
For more information, contact Ashley Phifer at .
Christie's Paris Sells Beauford Delaney Abstract at Auction
Christie's Paris placed Beauford's abstract painting Untitled, 1970 up for auction at its Rendez-Vous / Intérieurs Contemporains sale on October 9th.
Untitled, 1970 Oil on canvas, 65 x 54 cm.
© Christie's Images, 2013 © Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Painted at the artist’s studio : 53 rue Vercingétorix, Paris 14ème
Signed, dated, and situated in blue ink ‘Beauford Delaney 1970 Paris’ (lower middle)
Signed and dated in red paint ‘Beauford Delaney 1970’ (lower right)
This auction featured works of Impressionist and modern art, contemporary art, 20th-century decorative arts & design, and photography. Beauford's work shared the auction block with œuvre by renowned artists such as Picasso, Braque, and Dalí.
Sylvain Briet - an expert on Beauford’s art who has been called upon by Christie's in Paris and London to authenticate works for sale - provided Les Amis with information about Untitled in a previous blog post:
Where to Find Beauford's Art: Christie's Paris October 2013 Rendez-Vous / Intérieurs Contemporains Auction
The estimated sale price for the painting (Lot 146) was 4000€ to 6000€. It sold for 5000€ ($6784).
© Christie's Images, 2013
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Signed, dated, and situated in blue ink ‘Beauford Delaney 1970 Paris’ (lower middle)
Signed and dated in red paint ‘Beauford Delaney 1970’ (lower right)
This auction featured works of Impressionist and modern art, contemporary art, 20th-century decorative arts & design, and photography. Beauford's work shared the auction block with œuvre by renowned artists such as Picasso, Braque, and Dalí.
Sylvain Briet - an expert on Beauford’s art who has been called upon by Christie's in Paris and London to authenticate works for sale - provided Les Amis with information about Untitled in a previous blog post:
Where to Find Beauford's Art: Christie's Paris October 2013 Rendez-Vous / Intérieurs Contemporains Auction
The estimated sale price for the painting (Lot 146) was 4000€ to 6000€. It sold for 5000€ ($6784).
Beauford's "Embrun" Sells at Swann Auction Galleries African-American Fine Art Auction
Per last week's posting, Swann Auction Galleries placed three paintings by Beauford up for auction at its October 2013 auction: Point of Departure: Postwar African-American Fine Art.
Embrun, the most dramatically colored of the works, sold for $12,500 (including buyer's premium*).
Embrun
(1963) Watercolor on wove paper
641x501 mm; 25 1/4x19 3/4 inches
Signed and dated "July 19, 1963" in ink, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This painting was exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, with the label on the frame back.
The other two paintings remain unsold.
Swann Auction Galleries
104 East 25th Street
New York, NY 10010
Telephone: 212-254-4710
*At auction, there are two prices--the hammer price, or the price at which the item sells during the auction, and the price with the buyer's premium. All auction houses have a buyer's premium that the buyer pays to the auction house on top of the hammer price. Swann's premium is 20%. Swann Auction Galleries now reports the "hammer price" and the price that include the buyer's premium in its online catalog.
Embrun, the most dramatically colored of the works, sold for $12,500 (including buyer's premium*).
(1963) Watercolor on wove paper
641x501 mm; 25 1/4x19 3/4 inches
Signed and dated "July 19, 1963" in ink, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This painting was exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, with the label on the frame back.
The other two paintings remain unsold.
Swann Auction Galleries
104 East 25th Street
New York, NY 10010
Telephone: 212-254-4710
*At auction, there are two prices--the hammer price, or the price at which the item sells during the auction, and the price with the buyer's premium. All auction houses have a buyer's premium that the buyer pays to the auction house on top of the hammer price. Swann's premium is 20%. Swann Auction Galleries now reports the "hammer price" and the price that include the buyer's premium in its online catalog.
Where to Find Beauford's Art: Swann Auction Galleries African American Fine Art Auction - October 2013
After selling a Beauford Delaney self-portrait at its African American Fine Art Auction in February, Swann Galleries is pleased to offer three magnificent paintings by Beauford at its October 2013 auction: Point of Departure: Postwar African-American Fine Art.
The first work that appears in the auction catalog is entitled Embrun:
Embrun
(1963) Watercolor on wove paper
641x501 mm; 25 1/4x19 3/4 inches
Signed and dated "July 19, 1963" in ink, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This painting was exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, with the label on the frame back. The estimated sale price is $8,000 - $12,000.
The second of the three paintings is entitled Untitled (Composition in Blue).
+Oct+3+2013.jpg)
Untitled (Composition in Blue)
(1963) Watercolor on wove paper
641x501 mm; 25 1/4x19 3/4 inches
Signed, dated and inscribed "Paris" in ink, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The estimated sale price for this work is $8,000 - $12,000.
The third painting, also called Untitled, is the pièce de résistance – the showpiece of the three works. It was created in Beauford's favorite color - yellow.
Untitled
(1968) Oil on cotton canvas
610x502 mm; 24x19 3/4 inches
Signed and dated in oil, lower left
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
It was also exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, with the label on the frame back.
Swann Auction Galleries describes Untitled as follows:
Its estimated sale price is $50,000 - $75,000.
All three paintings were acquired directly from the artist by James and Gloria Jones in Paris. From the estate of Gloria Jones, New York, they were acquired for a private New York collection. American writer James Jones and his wife Gloria were close friends, collectors and supporters of Beauford while he lived in Paris.
Point of Departure: Postwar African-American Fine Art is listed as Sale 2323 on Swann Auction Galleries Web site. For details, click here.
The first work that appears in the auction catalog is entitled Embrun:
(1963) Watercolor on wove paper
641x501 mm; 25 1/4x19 3/4 inches
Signed and dated "July 19, 1963" in ink, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This painting was exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, with the label on the frame back. The estimated sale price is $8,000 - $12,000.
The second of the three paintings is entitled Untitled (Composition in Blue).
+Oct+3+2013.jpg)
(1963) Watercolor on wove paper
641x501 mm; 25 1/4x19 3/4 inches
Signed, dated and inscribed "Paris" in ink, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The estimated sale price for this work is $8,000 - $12,000.
The third painting, also called Untitled, is the pièce de résistance – the showpiece of the three works. It was created in Beauford's favorite color - yellow.
(1968) Oil on cotton canvas
610x502 mm; 24x19 3/4 inches
Signed and dated in oil, lower left
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
It was also exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, with the label on the frame back.
Swann Auction Galleries describes Untitled as follows:
In this striking canvas, Beauford Delaney combines a representation of an African fertility figure within a saturated yellow color field painting. Delaney had an interest in African sculpture going back to his reading of Alain Locke's New Negro, and visiting artist Cloyd Boykin's Primitive African Arts Center in the 1930s. Having seen the influence of African art on Picasso and other modernist painters in both New York and Paris, Delaney often incorporated African motifs and figures, including Earth Mother, 1950 and Mokonde Figure, 1952. This oil is from the same year as his Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald in the Walter O. Evans Collection of African-American Art, the last fully productive year of his Parisian period. In both paintings, the figure is subsumed within the dominant yellow swirls of color. Three years later, Delaney even portrayed himself as an African figure in his Self-Portrait, 1971. Leeming p. 41 and 102; Powell p. 58.
Its estimated sale price is $50,000 - $75,000.
All three paintings were acquired directly from the artist by James and Gloria Jones in Paris. From the estate of Gloria Jones, New York, they were acquired for a private New York collection. American writer James Jones and his wife Gloria were close friends, collectors and supporters of Beauford while he lived in Paris.
Point of Departure: Postwar African-American Fine Art is listed as Sale 2323 on Swann Auction Galleries Web site. For details, click here.
Where to Find Beauford's Art: Christie's Paris October 2013 Rendez-Vous / Intérieurs Contemporains Auction
Sylvain Briet - an expert on Beauford’s art who has been called upon by Christie's in Paris and London to authenticate works for sale - has graciously provided Les Amis with the following information about a singular Delaney painting that will be offered at auction by Christie's Paris on October 9, 2013:
Untitled, 1970 Oil on canvas, 65 x 54 cm.
© Christie's Images, 2013 © Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Painted at the artist’s studio : 53 rue Vercingétorix, Paris 14ème
Signed, dated, and situated in blue ink ‘Beauford Delaney 1970 Paris’ (lower middle)
Signed and dated in red paint ‘Beauford Delaney 1970’ (lower right)
Beauford Delaney was a total artist, an inventive artist. This painting (done at the age of 68) shows his perpetual interest in researching and experimenting with new techniques and visual effects—in what I call creating. The organization of forms on the canvas, the use of bright yellow that can even be found on one of the edges of the back of the painting, as well as the clear border that frames the composition, are all elements that affirm that this painting was created by Beauford.
Rear of Untitled, 1970
© Christie's Images, 2013 © Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The double signature is not unique to Delaney. His red signature can be found on All the Races, another painting dated 1970 that my brother Philippe and I showed at the Philippe Briet Gallery. The form of the letters in blue ink (made with a pen) is also characteristic of Beauford's style during that era.
When we enlarge the reproduction to its maximum we have a true feeling of the painting, its texture, and how Beauford Delaney managed to combine its colors with softness, which is quite remarkable.
Provenance:
There is unfortunately no record between the moment the painting left Beauford’s studio and its purchase by the actual owner in the south of France. The work was sold to the actual owner in 1998 by Michel Martiniani at Art Trade, an antique shop in La Garde. This small city is located in the Var department, not far from the French Riviera and Saint-Paul de Vence, where Beauford stayed and painted at James Baldwin’s home on several occasions in 1971, 72 and 73. But this was long after the painting was created.
Untitled, 1970, Lot 146, will be offered for sale at Christie’s, 9 avenue Matignon, Paris 8ème, during the Rendez-Vous / Intérieurs Contemporains auction, Sale 3557, on October 9, starting at 2:30 PM. Estimate: €4,000 - €6,000 ($5,316 - $7,975).
© Christie's Images, 2013
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Signed, dated, and situated in blue ink ‘Beauford Delaney 1970 Paris’ (lower middle)
Signed and dated in red paint ‘Beauford Delaney 1970’ (lower right)
Beauford Delaney was a total artist, an inventive artist. This painting (done at the age of 68) shows his perpetual interest in researching and experimenting with new techniques and visual effects—in what I call creating. The organization of forms on the canvas, the use of bright yellow that can even be found on one of the edges of the back of the painting, as well as the clear border that frames the composition, are all elements that affirm that this painting was created by Beauford.
© Christie's Images, 2013
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The double signature is not unique to Delaney. His red signature can be found on All the Races, another painting dated 1970 that my brother Philippe and I showed at the Philippe Briet Gallery. The form of the letters in blue ink (made with a pen) is also characteristic of Beauford's style during that era.
When we enlarge the reproduction to its maximum we have a true feeling of the painting, its texture, and how Beauford Delaney managed to combine its colors with softness, which is quite remarkable.
Provenance:
There is unfortunately no record between the moment the painting left Beauford’s studio and its purchase by the actual owner in the south of France. The work was sold to the actual owner in 1998 by Michel Martiniani at Art Trade, an antique shop in La Garde. This small city is located in the Var department, not far from the French Riviera and Saint-Paul de Vence, where Beauford stayed and painted at James Baldwin’s home on several occasions in 1971, 72 and 73. But this was long after the painting was created.
Untitled, 1970, Lot 146, will be offered for sale at Christie’s, 9 avenue Matignon, Paris 8ème, during the Rendez-Vous / Intérieurs Contemporains auction, Sale 3557, on October 9, starting at 2:30 PM. Estimate: €4,000 - €6,000 ($5,316 - $7,975).
Where to Find Beauford's Art: Dolan/Maxwell Gallery
On Thursday I had the pleasure of speaking with Ron Rumford, director of the Dolan/Maxwell Gallery in Philadelphia. Dolan/Maxwell is proud to offer two Beauford Delaney paintings for sale:
Untitled (Grape Motif)
(1946) Pastel on paper image: 17 x 23.125 inches
sheet: 18 x 24 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Untitled (Yellow series)
(1962) Oil on linen 26 x 21 inches Annotated in verso
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Both works were obtained from a private collector whose husband knew Beauford personally.
About these paintings, Rumford writes:
Dolan/Maxwell specializes in work by artists from the 1930's to the present, ranging from WPA, Modernist, European, and New York School to African-American and International Contemporary.
Dolan/Maxwell Gallery
2046 Rittenhouse Square Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 USA
Telephone: 215-732-7787
Facsimile: 215-790-1866
Email:
www.dolanmaxwell.com
(1946) Pastel on paper
sheet: 18 x 24 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1962) Oil on linen
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Both works were obtained from a private collector whose husband knew Beauford personally.
About these paintings, Rumford writes:
Beauford Delaney's pastel was made in New York c. 1946 and reflects a dynamic, frenzied energy often associated with that city. He contradicts our expectations of what a simple bunch of grapes might imply by surrounding the delicately colored fruit with zigzagging lines that echo the jagged edges of the grape leaves. Powerful, contrasting bands of pinks, purples, blue, and brown shatter the notion that we are looking at a mere still life.
Untitled (Yellow series) 1962 was painted in Paris, where Delaney allows the objective world to escape from his work. Now painting is about light, about applying the paint and finding meaning within the act of mixing color and orchestrating brushstrokes. Yellow is the brightest color of the spectrum and in making this radiant choice Beauford assigns himself the greatest painting challenge of inventing a new visual reality out of oil paint. He rises to that challenge again and again with the yellow paintings he made in Paris.
Dolan/Maxwell specializes in work by artists from the 1930's to the present, ranging from WPA, Modernist, European, and New York School to African-American and International Contemporary.
Dolan/Maxwell Gallery
2046 Rittenhouse Square Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 USA
Telephone: 215-732-7787
Facsimile: 215-790-1866
Email:
www.dolanmaxwell.com
Beauford in Provence
As events begin to unfold in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, I am reminded of a brief anecdote in Beauford's biography, Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney
. Author David Leeming describes how Beauford traveled to the town of Solliès Toucas, in the region of Provence in southern France, to spend time with friends Bernard Hassell, Richard Olney, and Mary Painter. He indicates that
In previous posts on this blog, I published images of paintings by Beauford that bear the name (although misspelled) of this Provençal town. One of them is dated 1963 and the other is undated:
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Undoubtedly, one of them was painted during the time of Baldwin's visit to Paris. Given the similarity of the two works, the other may well have been painted during the same trip.
To read the articles in which these images were first published, click on the links below:
Where to Find Beauford's Art: Ink Miami Art Fair - Aaron Galleries
Roy Freeman Remembers Beauford
. Author David Leeming describes how Beauford traveled to the town of Solliès Toucas, in the region of Provence in southern France, to spend time with friends Bernard Hassell, Richard Olney, and Mary Painter. He indicates thatBeauford painted a great deal and, as always, enjoyed the sun, but was upset at missing James Baldwin's quick visit to Paris to gather expatriate support for the March on Washington.
In previous posts on this blog, I published images of paintings by Beauford that bear the name (although misspelled) of this Provençal town. One of them is dated 1963 and the other is undated:
Sollis Toucan
(1963) Oil on canvas
Signed, dated and titled, on the stretcher
16 3/8 x 13 inches
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Soullis Toucas
(Beauford's gift to Roy Freeman)
Oil on canvas
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Undoubtedly, one of them was painted during the time of Baldwin's visit to Paris. Given the similarity of the two works, the other may well have been painted during the same trip.
To read the articles in which these images were first published, click on the links below:
Where to Find Beauford's Art: Ink Miami Art Fair - Aaron Galleries
Roy Freeman Remembers Beauford
The Many Sidedness of Beauford Delaney's Art: Commentary
Last week, I published "The Many Sidedness of Beauford Delaney's Art," an article by Dr. Catherine St. John that discusses Beauford's art in the context of the recent solo exposition Beauford Delaney: Internal Light at the Jim Levis Gallery. Today, I bring you comments on that article by Sylvain Briet - an art expert and the brother of the late Philippe Briet, a French gallery owner and publisher who was passionate about the work of Beauford Delaney. The Briet brothers operated the Philippe Briet Gallery in SoHo, Manhattan in the late 1980s and mounted two retrospectives of Beauford's works.
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My remarks are not about Catherine Saint John's vision of the art of Beauford Delaney, which is by far more interesting than many writings published for decades. I believe in her talent in understanding Beauford's work, as my late brother did. She is a true friend and my comments are not meant to give her discrédit (discredit). But there are some points that needed some éclaircissement (clarification, explanation), as we say in French:
Catherine St. John (CSJ) wrote "...artists living abroad were more apt to explore diversity in an environment where a traditional art market was absent." I wonder why she says that, since by the early 1950s numerous art magazines were active in France, such as La Gazette des Beaux-Arts (1859-2002), Cimaise (1953 to present), L'Œil (January 1955 to present), Connaissance des Arts (1952 to present), Jardin des Arts (1954 to present), Cahiers d'Art (1926-1960), and XXe Siècle (1938-1974). There were also hundreds of galleries already in Paris. When I checked in an issue of Cimaise dating from 1956, I was able to see ads for American, Italian and English galleries. There's even a section with the articles translated into English.
The famous auction house Hôtel Drouot was inaugurated in Paris in 1852 and is still a flourishing business. The auctioneer House of Paris was created in 1801. Sotheby's had its first sale in the U.S. in 1955 and opened an office in Paris in 1967. Christie's in New York didn't have its first auction before 1977, and its first in Paris in 2002. And of course, until 1964 and that now famous Venice Biennal that awarded Rauschenberg, all the art American people were interested in was coming from Europe, and particularly France. So there was a strong art market when Beauford arrived in France.
The thing about Beauford was that he was in his own mental world, creating, and not interested in the art business. Also, he didn't have a partner to take care of his business. When he didn't give his works as presents to friends, he sold them for survival and to be able to produce more works. If he had had a close friend for promoting his art, his life would have been totally different.
CSJ's reference to the traditional art market was derived from an article on Gerhard Richter in Art Journal "that took into consideration a wider continental art market." One sure point is that we can't write generalities on a specific subject. And knowing the French and American culture is "indispensable" in understanding the time when Beauford Delaney was living! So, when it is written "where a traditional art market was absent," this is absolutely wrong. The image below provides evidence:
An auction in Paris including paintings and jewels, in April 1748
Image courtesy of Sylvain Briet
On another note, CSJ uses the expression "modest in size" about Beauford Delaney's paintings. As if the painter was not able to buy and then to create paintings on a larger scale, and as if this would be such a disadvantage in his career. There is nothing in them that makes them modest anyway, because size has nothing to do with quality. Dürer has never done paintings 7 meters long as did Cy Tombly and Rauschenberg. Neither did Van Gogh or Vermeer. Some people need to show big work to be seen!!!
"Modest" has a negative connotation. And the abstract paintings, the yellow ones we exhibited in New York, were not small.
I think that to imagine that Beauford was not able to buy large canvases is a false problem. I believe that he was comfortable creating works that were adapted to his natural gestures and movements and in concert with the development of his ideas. These works need not have been gigantic.
CSJ also mentions that "Untitled: Abstract in Black, Calligraphic Lines with Red, Diptych, probably completed in 1956, was inspired by an invitation from painter Larry Calcagno to join him on a trip to Ibiza, Spain." More precisely, the work was completed in Ibiza in August 1956, during a trip with painter Larry Calcagno. The name of the island is featured on the work.
It is interesting to see that the Jim Levis Gallery has put the works together, when apparently Beauford decided to make two works from the original one, signing each part. When put exactly next to each other, one can verify that Beauford reframed each part, eliminating some surface, whether on the top (work on the left) or on the bottom (work on the right).
Composite image of Untitled: Abstract in Black, Calligraphic Lines with Red, Diptych by Sylvain Briet
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
If some criticism could be made regarding the Jim Levis installation of the exhibition, it is that there is no pertinence in having the portraits presented in between abstract works.
Beauford Delaney: Internal Light
Levis Fine Art
Image courtesy of Levis Fine Art
It is as though Levis didn't believe in the portraits by themselves and thought that displaying an abstract painting next to a portrait would help people to see or to understand and be more likely to purchase the portrait! It is not a proper way to present the paintings to serve the artist.
My remarks are not about Catherine Saint John's vision of the art of Beauford Delaney, which is by far more interesting than many writings published for decades. I believe in her talent in understanding Beauford's work, as my late brother did. She is a true friend and my comments are not meant to give her discrédit (discredit). But there are some points that needed some éclaircissement (clarification, explanation), as we say in French:
Catherine St. John (CSJ) wrote "...artists living abroad were more apt to explore diversity in an environment where a traditional art market was absent." I wonder why she says that, since by the early 1950s numerous art magazines were active in France, such as La Gazette des Beaux-Arts (1859-2002), Cimaise (1953 to present), L'Œil (January 1955 to present), Connaissance des Arts (1952 to present), Jardin des Arts (1954 to present), Cahiers d'Art (1926-1960), and XXe Siècle (1938-1974). There were also hundreds of galleries already in Paris. When I checked in an issue of Cimaise dating from 1956, I was able to see ads for American, Italian and English galleries. There's even a section with the articles translated into English.
The famous auction house Hôtel Drouot was inaugurated in Paris in 1852 and is still a flourishing business. The auctioneer House of Paris was created in 1801. Sotheby's had its first sale in the U.S. in 1955 and opened an office in Paris in 1967. Christie's in New York didn't have its first auction before 1977, and its first in Paris in 2002. And of course, until 1964 and that now famous Venice Biennal that awarded Rauschenberg, all the art American people were interested in was coming from Europe, and particularly France. So there was a strong art market when Beauford arrived in France.
The thing about Beauford was that he was in his own mental world, creating, and not interested in the art business. Also, he didn't have a partner to take care of his business. When he didn't give his works as presents to friends, he sold them for survival and to be able to produce more works. If he had had a close friend for promoting his art, his life would have been totally different.
CSJ's reference to the traditional art market was derived from an article on Gerhard Richter in Art Journal "that took into consideration a wider continental art market." One sure point is that we can't write generalities on a specific subject. And knowing the French and American culture is "indispensable" in understanding the time when Beauford Delaney was living! So, when it is written "where a traditional art market was absent," this is absolutely wrong. The image below provides evidence:
Image courtesy of Sylvain Briet
On another note, CSJ uses the expression "modest in size" about Beauford Delaney's paintings. As if the painter was not able to buy and then to create paintings on a larger scale, and as if this would be such a disadvantage in his career. There is nothing in them that makes them modest anyway, because size has nothing to do with quality. Dürer has never done paintings 7 meters long as did Cy Tombly and Rauschenberg. Neither did Van Gogh or Vermeer. Some people need to show big work to be seen!!!
"Modest" has a negative connotation. And the abstract paintings, the yellow ones we exhibited in New York, were not small.
I think that to imagine that Beauford was not able to buy large canvases is a false problem. I believe that he was comfortable creating works that were adapted to his natural gestures and movements and in concert with the development of his ideas. These works need not have been gigantic.
CSJ also mentions that "Untitled: Abstract in Black, Calligraphic Lines with Red, Diptych, probably completed in 1956, was inspired by an invitation from painter Larry Calcagno to join him on a trip to Ibiza, Spain." More precisely, the work was completed in Ibiza in August 1956, during a trip with painter Larry Calcagno. The name of the island is featured on the work.
It is interesting to see that the Jim Levis Gallery has put the works together, when apparently Beauford decided to make two works from the original one, signing each part. When put exactly next to each other, one can verify that Beauford reframed each part, eliminating some surface, whether on the top (work on the left) or on the bottom (work on the right).
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
If some criticism could be made regarding the Jim Levis installation of the exhibition, it is that there is no pertinence in having the portraits presented in between abstract works.
Levis Fine Art
Image courtesy of Levis Fine Art
It is as though Levis didn't believe in the portraits by themselves and thought that displaying an abstract painting next to a portrait would help people to see or to understand and be more likely to purchase the portrait! It is not a proper way to present the paintings to serve the artist.
Danny Simmons on Beauford Delaney
Danny Simmons is a contemporary, self-proclaimed, “neo-African abstract expressionist” painter as well as an author and television producer (Def Poetry Jam). Hailing from Queens, NY, he is a co-founder of Rush Galleries and co-founder and vice president of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. He graciously granted Les Amis an interview about Beauford and the Beauford Delaney work that is part of his private art collection.
************
Les Amis: When and how did you learn about Beauford Delaney?
DS: I learned about Delaney's work about ten years ago at the black fine art show...one of the older established galleries had a few pieces for sale...I was intrigued by his abstraction. ..at the time I’d only seen figurative work by many of the artists of that period.
Les Amis: How would you describe his work?
DS: Well the work I’m most familiar with is mostly expressionist abstraction. I admit I’m not that well versed on his whole body of work. But in some of his figurative work I admire that he incorporated African images into the paintings . . . also his use of paint . . .how he thickly applied it . . . his portraits were soulful and captured the essence of his subjects.
Portrait of the Artist’s Mother
(1930) Pencil, ink and watercolor on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Les Amis: You are a “neo-African abstract expressionist” painter. What does this mean?
DS: What I meant when I coined that term many years ago is that I try to channel the intent and spiritual feeling of traditional African art and allow it to influence the abstract images that I paint. African art was created for social and religious reasons and invoked power. I try to infuse that same spiritual power into my work.
Les Amis: How much did Beauford’s work influence yours, if any?
DS: I was already on my artistic path when I encountered his work . . . but the freedom and depth I saw in Delaney's art helped to push me to relax a bit more with my painting and find a deeper voice from within to bring to the canvas.
Portrait of the Artist’s Mother (detail)
(1930) Pencil, ink and watercolor on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Les Amis: Have you used any of Beauford’s work as part of the arts education programs that you offer at Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation?
DS: I don’t believe the kids have used Delaney specifically but I am aware that they have looked at art from that period by artists of color. And I’m sure he was among them.
Les Amis: How did you come to obtain the portrait of Beauford’s mother?
DS: A great collector dealer friend of mine told me he had a client that wanted to sell a Delaney that was within my affordability. Beauford’s work is quite pricey. I was hoping for an abstraction but was pleasantly surprised when I saw the stunning portrait of his mother. I pulled the resources together and quickly purchased it before someone else snapped it up.
Les Amis: What drew you to this work?
DS: I was drawn to purchase his work for two reasons:
Les Amis: Is there a “certain something” that motivates an artist (yourself included) to create abstract rather than figurative works?
DS: I think abstraction is a drawing on one’s soul to create the work. It’s a powerful experience to create something that comes totally from your spirit and imagination.
Les Amis: Do you think it is significant that Beauford continued to paint figurative portraits as he produced more and more abstract expressionist paintings?
DS: I think that artists have the ability to move across the creative spectrum and I admire that Beauford was able to allow himself the freedom to do so.
Les Amis: Any final thoughts?
DS: Only that I’m honored to be one of a very small group in the world that is lucky enough to have some of his work.
Les Amis: When and how did you learn about Beauford Delaney?
DS: I learned about Delaney's work about ten years ago at the black fine art show...one of the older established galleries had a few pieces for sale...I was intrigued by his abstraction. ..at the time I’d only seen figurative work by many of the artists of that period.
Les Amis: How would you describe his work?
DS: Well the work I’m most familiar with is mostly expressionist abstraction. I admit I’m not that well versed on his whole body of work. But in some of his figurative work I admire that he incorporated African images into the paintings . . . also his use of paint . . .how he thickly applied it . . . his portraits were soulful and captured the essence of his subjects.
(1930) Pencil, ink and watercolor on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Les Amis: You are a “neo-African abstract expressionist” painter. What does this mean?
DS: What I meant when I coined that term many years ago is that I try to channel the intent and spiritual feeling of traditional African art and allow it to influence the abstract images that I paint. African art was created for social and religious reasons and invoked power. I try to infuse that same spiritual power into my work.
Les Amis: How much did Beauford’s work influence yours, if any?
DS: I was already on my artistic path when I encountered his work . . . but the freedom and depth I saw in Delaney's art helped to push me to relax a bit more with my painting and find a deeper voice from within to bring to the canvas.
(1930) Pencil, ink and watercolor on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Les Amis: Have you used any of Beauford’s work as part of the arts education programs that you offer at Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation?
DS: I don’t believe the kids have used Delaney specifically but I am aware that they have looked at art from that period by artists of color. And I’m sure he was among them.
Les Amis: How did you come to obtain the portrait of Beauford’s mother?
DS: A great collector dealer friend of mine told me he had a client that wanted to sell a Delaney that was within my affordability. Beauford’s work is quite pricey. I was hoping for an abstraction but was pleasantly surprised when I saw the stunning portrait of his mother. I pulled the resources together and quickly purchased it before someone else snapped it up.
Les Amis: What drew you to this work?
DS: I was drawn to purchase his work for two reasons:
- To expand my collection of African-American masters.
- I’m still hoping to find an abstraction I can afford, but to have such a prominent historical artist in my home is a real blessing. His life in Paris is an amazing story.
Les Amis: Is there a “certain something” that motivates an artist (yourself included) to create abstract rather than figurative works?
DS: I think abstraction is a drawing on one’s soul to create the work. It’s a powerful experience to create something that comes totally from your spirit and imagination.
Les Amis: Do you think it is significant that Beauford continued to paint figurative portraits as he produced more and more abstract expressionist paintings?
DS: I think that artists have the ability to move across the creative spectrum and I admire that Beauford was able to allow himself the freedom to do so.
Les Amis: Any final thoughts?
DS: Only that I’m honored to be one of a very small group in the world that is lucky enough to have some of his work.
Conversations with Beauford - Part 2
Paul Sinclair is the agent for the African-American expatriate artist Ealy Mays. He and Mays are admirers of Beauford's work and students of his life story and Sinclair's profound respect and empathy for Beauford inspired him to represent Mays. The following is a second excerpt from an article that Sinclair wrote after visiting Beauford's solo exposition Beauford Delaney: Internal Light, which was recently held at Levis Fine Art in Manhattan. I have published it here with his permission.
... So as I stood at Levis Fine Arts and solemnly reached into his eyes, I found the man as complex, as soft, as tender, and as serene as the multitude of other witnesses to his existence. He refused my probes for direct answers and where he responded, it was in terms still comprehensible only by geniuses or madmen. His genteel and almost princely Portrait of a Man on White is juxtaposed to the effeminate yet rough portrayal of Howard Swanson, wherein Beauford obviously channeled much of his own inner turmoil into the almost “piggish” face with which he obscured Swanson’s neck. It was the eyes of Portrait of Man in Red that captivated me, and again I wondered while stepping back, “How did Beauford manage to fuse his own persona into this face of a white man?” In studying the portrait, an image of Beauford instantly came alive.
Oil on canvas
18.0 x 15.0 inches (48.7 x 38.1 cm)
Signed on reverse
© Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator
His Portrait of Ahmed Bioud went straight to the core of Bioud’s soul. One is captivated by his eyes and thereafter, seeing the rest of the portrait becomes a blur. Portrait of a Seated Man was again the Beauford with something to hide, yet dignified and meticulous in all that he did. An untitled piece described as Seated Figure in a Café simultaneously places the individual in a forest or jungle, which forced the question of whether an artist can ever truly be anything but himself or herself. The tumult and confusion of Beauford’s mind was such that even moments seated in a city café might unleash attacking lions and tigers, monkeys swinging wildly, and birds singing his favorite tones, all from deep within rain-forest vegetation through which rays of yellow sunlight would extend to yank at his consciousness and return him to the drink in his glass or the food on his plate.
Whatever darkness he felt inside would often give way to a constant light. Where the focus was not on a realist image, Beauford would go dancing in a magical world of light-infused abstracts. Without saying so, it was clear that this was where he found the most solace. He was an abstract painter before the movement and standing there in the gallery, it became clear to me that his strokes into abstraction were the unleashing of impulses formed from deep within. You got the sense that they were not visual formations, but instead the guided manifestation of hands driven by forces from within as Beauford pranced away in some foreign universe. And then he showed me an even more surprising beauty in Abstract in Turquoise, another piece of abstract work but this time a dalliance with a light-infused shade of blue.
Gouache on wove paper, 1961
25.75 x 19.75 inches (65.4 x 50.2 cm)
Signed and dated lower left
© Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator
The man I spoke to was not necessarily insane. He was instead different, and like other geniuses, possibly quite misunderstood. In her biopic definition of the man and his work, Gertrude Stein lauded , as being at the essence of his greatness.the genius of Picasso’s ability to see things differently than the rest of us, as being at the essence of his greatness. According to Stein, “... Picasso was not like that, when he ate a tomato, the tomato was not everybody’s tomato, not at all and his effort was not to express in his way the things seen as everyone sees them, but to express the thing as he was seeing it.” In a different way, Beauford showed me that he too saw things differently from the rest of us.
James Baldwin might have been correct in the following attribution to Beauford Delaney, with the exception of the last portion:
He has been starving and working all of his life – in Tennessee, in Boston, in New York, and now in Paris. He has been menaced more than any other man I know by his social circumstances and also by all the emotional and psychological stratagems he has been forced to use to survive; and, more than any other man I know, he has transcended both the inner and outer darkness.But what I saw and heard from Beauford was a little different. His inner darkness gave way to the outer light and there might not have been a need to transcend any of that. Should there always be an expectation of genius’ coexistence with rationality, or of light in constant opposition to darkness in regards to those who create? Can logical minds or trouble-free souls be reasonable expectations in the creation of art? Those who knew Beauford, those who loved him, and those who were uplifted by his art, were all saddened that the “companions” that drove the genius had in time also devoured the man. But the man was here, and his art now transcends both time and space, and this should be a source of happiness and inspiration for all.
As Homer once said, there can be no pledging of faith between men and lions. It is to be expected that lion will devour man. Beauford would have known that all along and from behind the caged walls of l’hôpital St. Anne in Paris, he yielded to his inner lions on the 26th day March 1979.
Read the first excerpt from Paul Sinclair's article here.
Conversations with Beauford - Part 1
Paul Sinclair is the agent for the African-American expatriate artist Ealy Mays. He and Mays are admirers of Beauford's work and students of his life story and Sinclair's profound respect and empathy for Beauford inspired him to represent Mays. The following is an excerpt from an article that Sinclair wrote after visiting Beauford's solo exposition Beauford Delaney: Internal Light, which was recently held at Levis Fine Art in Manhattan. I have published it here with his permission.
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On entering the Levis Fine Art gallery on West 24th Street in Manhattan last week, I felt a selfish sense of ideal timing in that I was visiting Beauford to say hello at about 4pm on a Thursday evening, and I was very happy at the absence of a bustling 6pm crowd that might have interrupted the conversation between Beauford and me. Many Manhattan galleries will inundate you with invitations only to grace your presence with that sense of “trespassing-snobbery.” But at Levis Fine Art, it was different.
Beauford Delaney: Internal Light
Levis Fine Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator
Jim Levis came out and welcomed me. I told him of my connections to Beauford Delaney and of my absolute pleasure in seeing the exhibit, and I also mentioned that I that I knew a Monique Wells in Paris. He in turn extended a warm welcome and shared a few thoughts on what inspired him to recognize our friend with this wonderful exhibition, entitled Beauford Delaney: Internal Light. It was my second visit to see a Beauford exhibition in as many months. He had featured prominently in the Whitney Museum’s Blues for Smoke exhibition earlier this year, though as part of a group collection by great black artists. At Levis, this was a solo Beauford exhibit, and I had much to discuss with the man.
While standing there, I thought of the many question for Beauford that I had in my head for so many years. I am a “Beauford Delaney kid,” loosely self-described as spending a period of my life in the shadows of Beauford wherein on any given day Beauford might have occupied about hundred out of the average forty thousand thoughts that crossed my mind. His was the other side of Paris; Not exactly Van Gogh’s trail of madness and brilliance through the South of France, but neither was it Henry O. Tanner’s genteel existence of solace found in painting deeply religious images such as Daniel in the Lion’s Den, Return of the Holy Women, or The Resurrection of Lazarus. Tanner, like Beauford, was another kind and gentle soul. Both were sensitive men who had fled the harsh Anglo-Saxon culture of the United States for the soft artistic shores of France, with Tanner leading the way a generation before Beauford.
During my years in Paris, I had met and known so many deeply talented artists who too were tortured souls. So standing there in that gallery, I needed some answers – in particular, to the question of the seemingly perfectly inversed relationship of the genius to the demented, and its reconciliation sooner or later with the bottle or some other form of drug intended to numb the pain. I was not going to wait to read the opinions of some disconnected art writer or of others with varying titles who are paid handsomely to vomit illustrious words per minute, without ever having a single intimate moment with the man or any knowledge of who he was. This was not like a Rembrandt or a Gauguin who lived a thousand years ago and whose works are only to be found in major museums. This was a painter whose roommate had been a father figure for some of us in Paris for years. I was not there to examine brush strokes or contours. Instead, I was there to look Beauford in the eye and ask of him the questions that have been on my mind for these many years.
“Was it true that he had attempted to throw himself into the Seine a few times before being committed?” “Was the use of “yellow” and its many variants done in search of discovering a 4th primary color or was this his media, through which he could abstractly express himself and resonate color and light, his way of shining from within?” “How did he feel to see friends and fellow artists Harold Cousins, Ed Clark, Herbert Gentry, Romare Bearden, and others receive such widespread recognition and fame, while he languished unrecognized for many years?” “What was his reaction to his friend James Baldwin’s meteoric take off after returning to the America in 1957 to participate in the civil rights struggle?” “Did he consider Baldwin’s friendship an important a factor in his life as history had recorded it, and did he feel that Baldwin had done enough for him in his darkest hours of need, as would have been expected of such a ‘dear’ friend and mentee?”
I also wanted to ask Beauford if he was finally at peace and if he was happy with the new found recognition, and dedication of recent years by scholars and writers such as Paris-based freelance writer Monique Wells, who single-handedly prevented the destruction and possible desecration of his “about-to-be abandoned” burial spot and created the Les Amis de Beauford foundation in Paris, solely dedicated to the preservation of the legacy and dignity of Beauford Delaney.
I did not need to ask him how he felt about the exhibition underway at Levis Fine Art Gallery, as I could feel his spirit and I knew he was happy. So I took the time to look Beauford in the eyes and posed my questions. His answers were as varied as could be imagined, and where they were not too clear, I had to infer my own interpretations of the man in yellow. He was no less complex than history had suggested, yet his genteel nature was felt throughout the exhibition halls.
Abstract in Orange and Red, 1963
Gouache on wove paper
25.75 x 19.625 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator
Beauford's life was lived with kindness, care, pity, neglect, confusion, paranoia, a little schizophrenia, and a lot of pure genius. Depression, isolation, exploitation, and religious-induced self-hatred for being born gay drove the engine of torture that powered both dimensions of his extremes. His work reflected bright colors and lights, which shone through, while his mood often reflected absolute darkness. The artist manifested one wavelength while his art was of an entirely different genre. In physics we learn that with massive temperature increases past a few hundred degrees Celsius, black bodies start to emit visible wavelengths, appearing red, orange, yellow, blue and white. In seeing Beauford’s work, one can imagine a similar internal increase in neurons, increase in electrons, heightened molecular stimulations to the brain, and near atomic spinning of particles, to produce incredibly serene light and often yellow textures, with delicacies of time, place, moods and circumstances. Internal turmoil enveloped the man while tranquility eased itself into every inch of his work and into much of his external interactions with others. He painted many faces but it was through forceful and poignant construction of the eyes by which he often showed us the souls of his subjects. At times, it was clear that he channeled some of the inner Beauford into his subjects as well. All who knew Beauford described him as a kind, sweet, and loving soul, albeit always in regretfully poignant tones.
On entering the Levis Fine Art gallery on West 24th Street in Manhattan last week, I felt a selfish sense of ideal timing in that I was visiting Beauford to say hello at about 4pm on a Thursday evening, and I was very happy at the absence of a bustling 6pm crowd that might have interrupted the conversation between Beauford and me. Many Manhattan galleries will inundate you with invitations only to grace your presence with that sense of “trespassing-snobbery.” But at Levis Fine Art, it was different.
Levis Fine Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator
Jim Levis came out and welcomed me. I told him of my connections to Beauford Delaney and of my absolute pleasure in seeing the exhibit, and I also mentioned that I that I knew a Monique Wells in Paris. He in turn extended a warm welcome and shared a few thoughts on what inspired him to recognize our friend with this wonderful exhibition, entitled Beauford Delaney: Internal Light. It was my second visit to see a Beauford exhibition in as many months. He had featured prominently in the Whitney Museum’s Blues for Smoke exhibition earlier this year, though as part of a group collection by great black artists. At Levis, this was a solo Beauford exhibit, and I had much to discuss with the man.
While standing there, I thought of the many question for Beauford that I had in my head for so many years. I am a “Beauford Delaney kid,” loosely self-described as spending a period of my life in the shadows of Beauford wherein on any given day Beauford might have occupied about hundred out of the average forty thousand thoughts that crossed my mind. His was the other side of Paris; Not exactly Van Gogh’s trail of madness and brilliance through the South of France, but neither was it Henry O. Tanner’s genteel existence of solace found in painting deeply religious images such as Daniel in the Lion’s Den, Return of the Holy Women, or The Resurrection of Lazarus. Tanner, like Beauford, was another kind and gentle soul. Both were sensitive men who had fled the harsh Anglo-Saxon culture of the United States for the soft artistic shores of France, with Tanner leading the way a generation before Beauford.
During my years in Paris, I had met and known so many deeply talented artists who too were tortured souls. So standing there in that gallery, I needed some answers – in particular, to the question of the seemingly perfectly inversed relationship of the genius to the demented, and its reconciliation sooner or later with the bottle or some other form of drug intended to numb the pain. I was not going to wait to read the opinions of some disconnected art writer or of others with varying titles who are paid handsomely to vomit illustrious words per minute, without ever having a single intimate moment with the man or any knowledge of who he was. This was not like a Rembrandt or a Gauguin who lived a thousand years ago and whose works are only to be found in major museums. This was a painter whose roommate had been a father figure for some of us in Paris for years. I was not there to examine brush strokes or contours. Instead, I was there to look Beauford in the eye and ask of him the questions that have been on my mind for these many years.
“Was it true that he had attempted to throw himself into the Seine a few times before being committed?” “Was the use of “yellow” and its many variants done in search of discovering a 4th primary color or was this his media, through which he could abstractly express himself and resonate color and light, his way of shining from within?” “How did he feel to see friends and fellow artists Harold Cousins, Ed Clark, Herbert Gentry, Romare Bearden, and others receive such widespread recognition and fame, while he languished unrecognized for many years?” “What was his reaction to his friend James Baldwin’s meteoric take off after returning to the America in 1957 to participate in the civil rights struggle?” “Did he consider Baldwin’s friendship an important a factor in his life as history had recorded it, and did he feel that Baldwin had done enough for him in his darkest hours of need, as would have been expected of such a ‘dear’ friend and mentee?”
I also wanted to ask Beauford if he was finally at peace and if he was happy with the new found recognition, and dedication of recent years by scholars and writers such as Paris-based freelance writer Monique Wells, who single-handedly prevented the destruction and possible desecration of his “about-to-be abandoned” burial spot and created the Les Amis de Beauford foundation in Paris, solely dedicated to the preservation of the legacy and dignity of Beauford Delaney.
I did not need to ask him how he felt about the exhibition underway at Levis Fine Art Gallery, as I could feel his spirit and I knew he was happy. So I took the time to look Beauford in the eyes and posed my questions. His answers were as varied as could be imagined, and where they were not too clear, I had to infer my own interpretations of the man in yellow. He was no less complex than history had suggested, yet his genteel nature was felt throughout the exhibition halls.
Gouache on wove paper
25.75 x 19.625 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator
Beauford's life was lived with kindness, care, pity, neglect, confusion, paranoia, a little schizophrenia, and a lot of pure genius. Depression, isolation, exploitation, and religious-induced self-hatred for being born gay drove the engine of torture that powered both dimensions of his extremes. His work reflected bright colors and lights, which shone through, while his mood often reflected absolute darkness. The artist manifested one wavelength while his art was of an entirely different genre. In physics we learn that with massive temperature increases past a few hundred degrees Celsius, black bodies start to emit visible wavelengths, appearing red, orange, yellow, blue and white. In seeing Beauford’s work, one can imagine a similar internal increase in neurons, increase in electrons, heightened molecular stimulations to the brain, and near atomic spinning of particles, to produce incredibly serene light and often yellow textures, with delicacies of time, place, moods and circumstances. Internal turmoil enveloped the man while tranquility eased itself into every inch of his work and into much of his external interactions with others. He painted many faces but it was through forceful and poignant construction of the eyes by which he often showed us the souls of his subjects. At times, it was clear that he channeled some of the inner Beauford into his subjects as well. All who knew Beauford described him as a kind, sweet, and loving soul, albeit always in regretfully poignant tones.
Ba'lls to the Wa'll, Y'all - Part 2
This article is contributed by Maureen Kelleher, who is an avid admirer of James Baldwin and who came to know about Beauford because of his friendship with Baldwin. "Ba'lls to the Wa'll, Y'all" expresses Maureen's thoughts about a painting that she viewed at the ongoing exposition Beauford Delaney: Internal Light.This is the second excerpt from her article.
************
Untitled: Yellow, Red and Black Circles
1966 Gouache on wove paper
25.25 x 19.25 inches (64.1 x 48.9 cm)
Signed and inscribed lower right to James Baldwin
© Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator
Delaney’s work resulted from his trip to Istanbul and meeting up with Baldwin. Untitled: Yellow, Red and Black Circles is a pronouncement.
“I’m here and I’m queer” -- proud, loud, no shame. And “I got balls.”
He hooked up with his buddy, Baldwin. I can easily imagine each man feeling relief – “The cavalry has arrived! I have back–up! I’m saved! I’m normal! All is good with my world, now!” Validation. Affirmation. Hugs. Love. Kindness all around.
The glorious glow that takes one over when we see a person we love, walking toward us, after a long time apart, getting closer, closer, their face, we smile, we start laughing!, we get giddy, and then so thrilled to hug him/ her and have them in our arms! Glory be! I am loved! It’s all okay! You’re here!” “I am so happy you are here!” And that’s just the part that can be expressed in thoughts and words.
And for these two odd [American] balls, who so clearly rejected so much of what was “normal” back “home” in the old streets of the USA: to be within reach of each other was an affirmation of how they chose to live. Pure joy.
Each saw himself in the other, and enjoyed the validation from the other man when in his company, when he watched the other one move, be, talk, relate, eat, joke, drink, smoke, etc.
I can only guess there was an extraordinary vibe and understanding between them, shared: ‘you are me and I am you. Period. Thank god for you.’
I can imagine Baldwin gabbed on and on -- seriously, goofy, humorously, sardonically, subtlely, deeply -- about his love for Delaney (and everything else). He was a talker, sometimes a bullshitter, a sharp-as-shit eye on everything, the voice of what was going on all around him and inside his head, heart, and probably in his loins, too. He talked, he wrote. He wrote more. And more. He got so much up and out. I doubt he would have held back in his verbiage when he met, head on, someone he loved. No lack of expressing the love.
Beauford’s self-expression? I imagine a lot of bear hugs! And jovial physical back and forth with all he came within arm’s length of. And, of course, he expressed through painting.
“Untitled: Yellow, Red and Black Circles,” aka:
"Balls, and I’m proud of 'em."
Or
“Life, and I’m alive!”
Or
“I’m here, I’m queer, and I’m so happy to be.”
Or
“And this is where it all comes from!”
Or
“Life. Let’s get it on.”
Or
“I’m with Jimmy again! Wahoo! I’m so happy!”
Or
“I have no idea what this freaking life is really all about,
but here I am. And here’s where it all started.”
Or
“I know what life is all about, and I’m living it. And here is where I got my start.
Thank you very much!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Delaney’s epitaph reads: “I am home.” Clearly he thought about what he wanted to say to the world, when given the last shot.
“I am home.”
My life, his life, our being born: is the leaving of home and trekking out -- being pushed out -- into the world? Out into human existence we go! – to live outside of the home, and death is our happy return ?
Death: the successful coming “full circle” – in which we get back to where it all started? i.e., I made it! I found it! I got back! I’m back!! He believed life was one huge, decades- long search? An effort, the striving, working, to getting back to a special place?
The trail, the damn long road, we each take, once we make that first fluidy wriggle, from that first cell, that meeting of egg and sperm, that will become me? Fall out of the womb, get pushed out, and the trek begins? Striving, from that moment on, to get back in?
To my mind, home is where I feel safe.
While living, Delaney felt at “home” when in the presence of Baldwin. Of that, I feel certain. Baldwin validated so many aspects of Delaney’s being and his essence, too. And vice versa for Baldwin.
For Delaney, he envisioned death was home, and it feels like he looked forward to the relief dying and being back at “home” would bring.
Perhaps he looked forward to the place, the time, where / when he didn’t have to be afraid of and wrestle with and negotiate pain, poverty, demons in his crazy ass head, bills, hunger, the voices, and (I imagine) a monstrously long list of painful crap (that we’ll never know) that his life was chock full of.
Will we ever know the inspiration, Delaney’s real, deep down, inspiration, for this painting? One thing is certain. He dedicated it to Baldwin because he felt love for Jimmy. It is a love letter. It screams love on many levels. It was created while he was in a self-imposed exile, a self-made uprooting, and re-planting in Europe. And within that exile, an even more special trip, days long, to an even more strange (unfamiliar) country, to visit Baldwin.
I’m guessing it was relief, calm, tranquility, love, adoration and all-things- wonderful when one is in the company of a soul mate – in Istanbul in 1966.
And from this came Untitled: Yellow, Red and Black Circles.
For the full article, visit Maureen's Web site at www.beanartbean.com
1966 Gouache on wove paper
25.25 x 19.25 inches (64.1 x 48.9 cm)
Signed and inscribed lower right to James Baldwin
© Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator
Delaney’s work resulted from his trip to Istanbul and meeting up with Baldwin. Untitled: Yellow, Red and Black Circles is a pronouncement.
“I’m here and I’m queer” -- proud, loud, no shame. And “I got balls.”
He hooked up with his buddy, Baldwin. I can easily imagine each man feeling relief – “The cavalry has arrived! I have back–up! I’m saved! I’m normal! All is good with my world, now!” Validation. Affirmation. Hugs. Love. Kindness all around.
The glorious glow that takes one over when we see a person we love, walking toward us, after a long time apart, getting closer, closer, their face, we smile, we start laughing!, we get giddy, and then so thrilled to hug him/ her and have them in our arms! Glory be! I am loved! It’s all okay! You’re here!” “I am so happy you are here!” And that’s just the part that can be expressed in thoughts and words.
And for these two odd [American] balls, who so clearly rejected so much of what was “normal” back “home” in the old streets of the USA: to be within reach of each other was an affirmation of how they chose to live. Pure joy.
Each saw himself in the other, and enjoyed the validation from the other man when in his company, when he watched the other one move, be, talk, relate, eat, joke, drink, smoke, etc.
I can only guess there was an extraordinary vibe and understanding between them, shared: ‘you are me and I am you. Period. Thank god for you.’
I can imagine Baldwin gabbed on and on -- seriously, goofy, humorously, sardonically, subtlely, deeply -- about his love for Delaney (and everything else). He was a talker, sometimes a bullshitter, a sharp-as-shit eye on everything, the voice of what was going on all around him and inside his head, heart, and probably in his loins, too. He talked, he wrote. He wrote more. And more. He got so much up and out. I doubt he would have held back in his verbiage when he met, head on, someone he loved. No lack of expressing the love.
Beauford’s self-expression? I imagine a lot of bear hugs! And jovial physical back and forth with all he came within arm’s length of. And, of course, he expressed through painting.
“Untitled: Yellow, Red and Black Circles,” aka:
"Balls, and I’m proud of 'em."
Or
“Life, and I’m alive!”
Or
“I’m here, I’m queer, and I’m so happy to be.”
Or
“And this is where it all comes from!”
Or
“Life. Let’s get it on.”
Or
“I’m with Jimmy again! Wahoo! I’m so happy!”
Or
“I have no idea what this freaking life is really all about,
but here I am. And here’s where it all started.”
Or
“I know what life is all about, and I’m living it. And here is where I got my start.
Thank you very much!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Delaney’s epitaph reads: “I am home.” Clearly he thought about what he wanted to say to the world, when given the last shot.
“I am home.”
My life, his life, our being born: is the leaving of home and trekking out -- being pushed out -- into the world? Out into human existence we go! – to live outside of the home, and death is our happy return ?
Death: the successful coming “full circle” – in which we get back to where it all started? i.e., I made it! I found it! I got back! I’m back!! He believed life was one huge, decades- long search? An effort, the striving, working, to getting back to a special place?
The trail, the damn long road, we each take, once we make that first fluidy wriggle, from that first cell, that meeting of egg and sperm, that will become me? Fall out of the womb, get pushed out, and the trek begins? Striving, from that moment on, to get back in?
To my mind, home is where I feel safe.
While living, Delaney felt at “home” when in the presence of Baldwin. Of that, I feel certain. Baldwin validated so many aspects of Delaney’s being and his essence, too. And vice versa for Baldwin.
For Delaney, he envisioned death was home, and it feels like he looked forward to the relief dying and being back at “home” would bring.
Perhaps he looked forward to the place, the time, where / when he didn’t have to be afraid of and wrestle with and negotiate pain, poverty, demons in his crazy ass head, bills, hunger, the voices, and (I imagine) a monstrously long list of painful crap (that we’ll never know) that his life was chock full of.
Will we ever know the inspiration, Delaney’s real, deep down, inspiration, for this painting? One thing is certain. He dedicated it to Baldwin because he felt love for Jimmy. It is a love letter. It screams love on many levels. It was created while he was in a self-imposed exile, a self-made uprooting, and re-planting in Europe. And within that exile, an even more special trip, days long, to an even more strange (unfamiliar) country, to visit Baldwin.
I’m guessing it was relief, calm, tranquility, love, adoration and all-things- wonderful when one is in the company of a soul mate – in Istanbul in 1966.
And from this came Untitled: Yellow, Red and Black Circles.
For the full article, visit Maureen's Web site at www.beanartbean.com
Ba'lls to the Wa'll, Y'all - Part 1
This article is contributed by Maureen Kelleher, who is an avid admirer of James Baldwin and who came to know about Beauford because of his friendship with Baldwin. "Ba'lls to the Wa'll, Y'all" expresses Maureen's thoughts about a painting that she viewed at the ongoing exposition Beauford Delaney: Internal Light. I've printed a couple of excerpts here and will publish another one next week..
************
I’m a lover of all things about James Baldwin, and, in particular, his biography by David Leeming. It’s Baldwin’s life force that keeps me going back for more, more, more. I’d guess I’ve read some parts of Leeming’s book five times, times two. I’ve used the photos in the book in my art (and so much more), I sometimes call up a story from his life to emphasize a point in mine. The man had balls. Big ones.
And his best buddy, friend, confidant, father figure, pal, great source of mutual [as in reciprocated] love, adoration, and respect: the painter, Beauford Delaney.
-----------------------
Untitled: Yellow, Red and Black Circles
1966 Gouache on wove paper
25.25 x 19.25 inches (64.1 x 48.9 cm)
Signed and inscribed lower right to James Baldwin
© Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator
At Levis Fine Art, W. 24th Street, NYC, Beauford Delaney: Internal Light hangs, shines, glows. Yellow, Lilly Wei points out, was important to Delaney. A lot of these paintings are from Delaney’s years in Paris.
I saw the works the day before the official reception. I had a great sneak peek preview as I waited for Jim Levis to deal with NYC traffic and get to our meeting at the gallery.
I looked at the show, then sat in his office and started a letter. I had about thirty minutes. Of course, I looked up, down, and all around as I thought about what next to write to my pen pal.
I couldn’t miss the additional Delaney paintings that were in Jim’s private space.
On the office walls: art. I was surrounded by it. More compact, tighter, more dense than out in the gallery. Squashed up right against it. The best way to see it. Sitting in a comfy leather chair. Write another sentence, look at the paintings again. Think about the painter.
There was Beauford Delaney, looking at me. His big old head, a piece of sculpture by the door. Delaney was checking me out, too.
“Get up! Pay attention to these paintings!” I said to myself. “He actually touched these!” “These are from across the ocean! From a long time ago!”
Over Jim’s desk I leaned, and then my face was up close and personal with Untitled: Yellow, Red and Black Circles. I kept thinking, over and over, just like when I’m in a museum: “He made this stuff!” “He touched it!” “This painting was in Paris!” and I blurred back into mental fantasy of where / how / when this painting had moved in its ‘life.’ And now, it’s here, right over Jim’s desk, and I could touch it, if I wanted!
This was Delaney’s art. I had only read about him, and then only tangentially (to Baldwin), but here is the stuff he created, right here! I missed it the first time around – lost in my thoughts that I was “actually” in front of work that came from Delaney -- but Jim pointed it out to me, nice semi-Aristotelian style, when we got to talking about the Baldwin and Delaney connection.
“See what it says?” he asked, about the piece over his desk. I got up, I re-looked, and saw the signature in the bottom corner of Untitled. There it was! Damn!!! “For Jimmy, love Beauford” and a notation connecting the piece to Istanbul, 1966.
Ah !!! The connection! So wonderful to see, via Beauford’s inscription !
There it was. The connection that I knew existed, and here it was, original source evidence, in Delaney’s hand. He knew Baldwin!
I had been drawn in by Baldwin; now it was seeping in: Delaney’s force was also a force to be considered, give more attention. Pay attention. There is, here is, this guy’s art, right in front of me! It’s here, it’s now. It is a link to back then, and back there. Surreal. Then is now.
And Delaney’s handwriting: wonderful. Soft, and lots of up and down. Easy to read; relaxed. It doesn’t convey a huge picture (no pun intended) of the artist, but to my sensibilities, I feel a little closer to a person when I see their handwriting. His spirit, in another way, comes through. This is how he moves, how he moves his hand, when he holds a pen or brush and taps into the common symbols-making called the written word.
“For Jimmy” refers to James Baldwin, of course. The reason I was at the gallery, the reason I was in that office, the reason I became a visual artist, the reason I went to 181 Greene Street, retracing Baldwin’s search, looking for Delaney’s house? James Baldwin. James Baldwin. James Baldwin. He lights up some part of my soul, non-stop. “This little [art] light of mine” is fueled, in large part, by The Man with the big old bulging eyes (which weren’t, really, all that bulging).
Now I was bumping up close to Baldwin’s navigator, his wing man, his source, his rock: Beauford Delaney.
Beauford painted Untitled: Yellow, Red and Black Circles, I’m told, during his first trip to Istanbul, where he visited and stayed with Baldwin.
Some possible sources of inspiration, behind the work, for Delaney? Let’s gird our loins; okay. That’s enough. Let ’er rip, and let’s see what this work is.
It is existential.
It’s phallic, it’s penis and scrotum. It’s long and lean, with a big old tip and the line down the middle. It’s swimming amidst the circles. It’s balls on either side.
It’s yellow, it’s egg, it’s yoke.
It’s male and female, kind of swirly, bumping up right against each other. It’s a fried egg! Sitting in front of two balls. Mr. Penis wriggling his way through the players, and across the canvass.
It is the beginning of LIFE.
It is sunshine and light. It is the birth of “this little light of (yours and) mine.”
It’s where all sentient beings, you and me included, got our start. It is my life, Day One.
It is me, way back before I knew what the fuck was going on. It is from whence I sprang, from whence I swam and made my way, disconnected from, and not yet dependent on, air. A little fish swimming around, fluidy and cellular, with not a care in the world, yet. Not in the world, yet. Not in it and not of it, yet, but forces preparing ‘me’ and getting ‘me’ shaped by the two components seen here, sharing the canvass, as shared way back, when I was exactly this same configuration.
It is my self portrait. It is Beauford. It is Jimmy.
It is the masculine.
Delaney and Baldwin: MEN! Of course, their private parts are of utmost importance. Half kidding, and half ... not.
The Half-not part: It is apropos to paint what we care and think about. We definitely care about our organs, and our sexual organs, very definitely.
For the full article, visit Maureen's Web site at www.beanartbean.com
I’m a lover of all things about James Baldwin, and, in particular, his biography by David Leeming. It’s Baldwin’s life force that keeps me going back for more, more, more. I’d guess I’ve read some parts of Leeming’s book five times, times two. I’ve used the photos in the book in my art (and so much more), I sometimes call up a story from his life to emphasize a point in mine. The man had balls. Big ones.
And his best buddy, friend, confidant, father figure, pal, great source of mutual [as in reciprocated] love, adoration, and respect: the painter, Beauford Delaney.
1966 Gouache on wove paper
25.25 x 19.25 inches (64.1 x 48.9 cm)
Signed and inscribed lower right to James Baldwin
© Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator
At Levis Fine Art, W. 24th Street, NYC, Beauford Delaney: Internal Light hangs, shines, glows. Yellow, Lilly Wei points out, was important to Delaney. A lot of these paintings are from Delaney’s years in Paris.
I saw the works the day before the official reception. I had a great sneak peek preview as I waited for Jim Levis to deal with NYC traffic and get to our meeting at the gallery.
I looked at the show, then sat in his office and started a letter. I had about thirty minutes. Of course, I looked up, down, and all around as I thought about what next to write to my pen pal.
I couldn’t miss the additional Delaney paintings that were in Jim’s private space.
On the office walls: art. I was surrounded by it. More compact, tighter, more dense than out in the gallery. Squashed up right against it. The best way to see it. Sitting in a comfy leather chair. Write another sentence, look at the paintings again. Think about the painter.
There was Beauford Delaney, looking at me. His big old head, a piece of sculpture by the door. Delaney was checking me out, too.
“Get up! Pay attention to these paintings!” I said to myself. “He actually touched these!” “These are from across the ocean! From a long time ago!”
Over Jim’s desk I leaned, and then my face was up close and personal with Untitled: Yellow, Red and Black Circles. I kept thinking, over and over, just like when I’m in a museum: “He made this stuff!” “He touched it!” “This painting was in Paris!” and I blurred back into mental fantasy of where / how / when this painting had moved in its ‘life.’ And now, it’s here, right over Jim’s desk, and I could touch it, if I wanted!
This was Delaney’s art. I had only read about him, and then only tangentially (to Baldwin), but here is the stuff he created, right here! I missed it the first time around – lost in my thoughts that I was “actually” in front of work that came from Delaney -- but Jim pointed it out to me, nice semi-Aristotelian style, when we got to talking about the Baldwin and Delaney connection.
“See what it says?” he asked, about the piece over his desk. I got up, I re-looked, and saw the signature in the bottom corner of Untitled. There it was! Damn!!! “For Jimmy, love Beauford” and a notation connecting the piece to Istanbul, 1966.
Ah !!! The connection! So wonderful to see, via Beauford’s inscription !
There it was. The connection that I knew existed, and here it was, original source evidence, in Delaney’s hand. He knew Baldwin!
I had been drawn in by Baldwin; now it was seeping in: Delaney’s force was also a force to be considered, give more attention. Pay attention. There is, here is, this guy’s art, right in front of me! It’s here, it’s now. It is a link to back then, and back there. Surreal. Then is now.
And Delaney’s handwriting: wonderful. Soft, and lots of up and down. Easy to read; relaxed. It doesn’t convey a huge picture (no pun intended) of the artist, but to my sensibilities, I feel a little closer to a person when I see their handwriting. His spirit, in another way, comes through. This is how he moves, how he moves his hand, when he holds a pen or brush and taps into the common symbols-making called the written word.
“For Jimmy” refers to James Baldwin, of course. The reason I was at the gallery, the reason I was in that office, the reason I became a visual artist, the reason I went to 181 Greene Street, retracing Baldwin’s search, looking for Delaney’s house? James Baldwin. James Baldwin. James Baldwin. He lights up some part of my soul, non-stop. “This little [art] light of mine” is fueled, in large part, by The Man with the big old bulging eyes (which weren’t, really, all that bulging).
Now I was bumping up close to Baldwin’s navigator, his wing man, his source, his rock: Beauford Delaney.
Beauford painted Untitled: Yellow, Red and Black Circles, I’m told, during his first trip to Istanbul, where he visited and stayed with Baldwin.
Some possible sources of inspiration, behind the work, for Delaney? Let’s gird our loins; okay. That’s enough. Let ’er rip, and let’s see what this work is.
It is existential.
It’s phallic, it’s penis and scrotum. It’s long and lean, with a big old tip and the line down the middle. It’s swimming amidst the circles. It’s balls on either side.
It’s yellow, it’s egg, it’s yoke.
It’s male and female, kind of swirly, bumping up right against each other. It’s a fried egg! Sitting in front of two balls. Mr. Penis wriggling his way through the players, and across the canvass.
It is the beginning of LIFE.
It is sunshine and light. It is the birth of “this little light of (yours and) mine.”
It’s where all sentient beings, you and me included, got our start. It is my life, Day One.
It is me, way back before I knew what the fuck was going on. It is from whence I sprang, from whence I swam and made my way, disconnected from, and not yet dependent on, air. A little fish swimming around, fluidy and cellular, with not a care in the world, yet. Not in the world, yet. Not in it and not of it, yet, but forces preparing ‘me’ and getting ‘me’ shaped by the two components seen here, sharing the canvass, as shared way back, when I was exactly this same configuration.
It is my self portrait. It is Beauford. It is Jimmy.
It is the masculine.
Delaney and Baldwin: MEN! Of course, their private parts are of utmost importance. Half kidding, and half ... not.
The Half-not part: It is apropos to paint what we care and think about. We definitely care about our organs, and our sexual organs, very definitely.
For the full article, visit Maureen's Web site at www.beanartbean.com
Jim Levis on Beauford Delaney: Internal Light
Jim Levis of Levis Fine Art is the driving force behind the hugely successful opening of Beauford Delaney: Internal Light – the first one-man show of Beauford’s work since the Minneapolis Institute of Art exposition Beauford Delaney from New York to Paris in 2004-2005. A specialist in the art of mid-century modernists, Levis represents the estates of artists of this era who, as innovators are deserving of a serious second look. His clients include the estates of Elaine de Kooning, Budd Hopkins, Maurice Golubov, Walter Plate and now, Beauford Delaney.
Levis Fine Art
Image courtesy of Levis Fine Art
Levis has shown Beauford’s work at his gallery since 2006, when he was offered the opportunity to take four paintings on consignment. He says that Beauford’s œuvre, whether figurative or abstract, engages him and others who view it:
Great art resonates with one’s soul. The way Beauford uses color to capture and reflect light makes his paintings, regardless of palette or subject, enervating. Beauford’s art speaks to me in a profound way and its impact is universal. His paintings echo an energy that was his salvation and when it was beyond his brush, and his reality he struggled terribly until he was able to reconnect with his internal light.
Beauford’s life story adds a huge amount of context and makes interacting with the image more meaningful. He was born into a world where one’s imagination was the key to salvation as his family struggled emotionally, physically and financially. One of 12 siblings, only 4 lived to be adults; one of whom was his treasured brother Joseph, a fellow artist and confident. Beauford also forged relationships with many who were in the arts as well as patrons, including James Baldwin, Larry Calcagno, James Jones, Ahmed Bioud, Henry Miller, Bernard Hassel, Al Hirschfield, Alfred Stieglitz and others. Many of these individuals were not only life long friends and supporters but sitters for his portraits.
According to Levis, roughly 500 people attended the opening and he noted with pleasure that they showed genuine interest in Beauford’s work. Despite the social nature of the occasion, people spent a considerable amount of time looking at the paintings and significant sales were made.
Beyond the “revenue metric,” Levis notes that the “awareness factor” for Beauford’s work seems to be truly blossoming. Several people who attended the May 9th opening and who had never seen more than a few Delaneys in the past have already come back to the gallery for a more in depth viewing. Based on the outpouring of congratulations on the show, Levis is considering organizing follow-up events for focused collectors, scholars, and museums.
Over 30 paintings are currently being exhibited, mostly from the Paris Period between1953-1972 with others in reserve. They have a “pristine provenance” in terms of authenticity and ownership and have been certified by the estate. Beauford Delaney: Internal Light features a mix of abstract and figurative works, with the ratio of the two being roughly 3-to-1. As this is the first of a series of planned expositions, subsequent shows may have a different mix.
Because there was no organized transition plan for Beauford’s work when he died in 1979, many of his paintings were lost, misplaced, mishandled, or misappropriated over the next 25 years. Over the past 6 years, Levis has recommended resources to the estate to aid in their recovery, photography, cataloguing, data-basing, additional scholarship and publication. His reputation of serving other artist’s estates earned him the trust of the Estate Administrator, Derek L. Spratley. Beginning, 2 years ago, the first few paintings were sold for several times the high auction record to serious collectors. Based upon his performance, Levis Fine Art has been selected as Official Representative of the estate, a responsibility that Levis takes quite seriously and acknowledges as a milestone for his firm.
One of Levis’ additional responsibilities is to review and selectively catalog letters from of a treasure trove of Beauford’s “papers” that are held by the estate, independent of the documents held by the Schomburg Center in New York. The estate’s collection of documents provides interesting insights for future scholarship.
While other galleries sell Beauford’s work, Levis Fine Art is currently the only gallery authorized to sell paintings on behalf of Beauford’s estate.
Beauford Delaney: Internal Light will run through June 15, 2013.
Levis Fine Art
514 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
(646) 620-5000
Contact: James Levis
Email:
Where to Find Beauford's Art: Galerie Intemporel
Galerie Intemporel is the only place in Paris where you can find Beauford's work on public display.
© Discover Paris!
Owned by Laurence Choko, Intemporel was founded in 1998. It is located in the Beaubourg district, only a few blocks from the Pompidou Center. The gallery’s mission is to expose modern and contemporary works of select artists of the African Diaspora. Choko showed Beauford's Portrait of Vasilli Pikoula at Art Basel Miami in 2010.
Two abstract paintings by Beauford currently hang behind the desk at the gallery. I was privileged to stand before them at the recent reception held at the gallery in commemoration of Beauford's dear friend Richard A. Long, where I read from the tribute to Beauford that Richard contributed to this blog in 2010. An image of Beauford's portrait of Richard sat on the desk beside me.
© Discover Paris!
The blue and burnt orange abstract is an aquarelle dated 1961. The brown and green abstract is an aquarelle and gouache on paper dated 1962.
© Discover Paris!
For more information on these works, contact Laurence Choko at:
Galerie Intemporel
37, rue Quincampoix
75004 Paris
Telephone: 01.44.59.63.29
Metro: Châtelet or Rambuteau
E-mail:
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 2 PM to 7 PM, or by appointment
Beauford's New York Expositions
As the opening date for Internal Light, the solo exposition of the Beauford's works at Levis Fine Art* approaches, I am inspired to share some of the venues at which he had his work shown during his New York years. It's an impressive list!
© Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator
Whitney Studio Galleries (now the Whitney Museum of American Art) - February 26 - March 30, 1930
New York Public Library (Harlem branch - now the Schomburg Center) - entire month of May 1930
New York Public Library (Main branch) - May 17-28, 1932
Washington Square Outdoor Exhibit - many times, beginning in 1934
International Art Center Show at the Roerich Museum - 1935
8th Street Playhouse (later to become the theater that featured The Rocky Horror Picture Show for many years) - Autumn 1938
Vendome Art Gallery - January 18 - February 2, 1941
Artists' Gallery (closed in 1962) - May 1948
Roko Gallery - many times, beginning in February 1949
*Levis Fine Art
514 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
(646) 620-5000
Contact: James Levis
Email: jim@levisfineart.com
Opening for Internal Light: May 9, 2013
BEAUFORD DELANEY: INTERNAL LIGHT
************
Levis Fine Art is pleased to announce the opening of Beauford Delaney: Internal Light, an exhibition of the extraordinary artistic legacy from the Paris period (1953-1972) of this modern master, who exhibited in museums throughout Europe and the United States. Many of these historically significant paintings have not been viewed since the artist’s landmark 1978 exhibition, Beauford Delaney: A Retrospective was held at the Studio Museum in Harlem. The solo exhibition will run from May 9 through June 15, 2013.
The images shown in this post represent a few of the paintings that will be displayed during the exposition:
Oil on canvas
51.5 x 38.5 inches
Oil on canvas
51 1/8 x 38 1/8 inches (130 x 97 cm)
It is broadly recognized that Delaney’s Paris works are among the most significant of his body of work. A number of these Paris-period works to be shown were rescued from Delaney’s apartment shortly before his death. About to be seized by the French Government and auctioned to satisfy delinquent accounts, the paintings were shipped to New York through the efforts of a coterie of the artist’s devoted friends including James Baldwin, Henry Miller, Richard Powell and Richard Long*. These paintings would form the core of the 1978 retrospective.
Marker and mixed media on paper
21 x 14.5 inches
Gouache on wove paper
25.75 x 19.625 inches
Oil on canvas
26 x 21 inches
After thirty-five years of uncertain fate, and the enormous efforts over the past seven years by the estate’s court-appointed Administrator, Derek Spratley, many of these estate paintings have been recovered and are now being presented for the first time in this exhibition, opening to the public on May 9th. A fully illustrated color catalog with essay by Lilly Wei, New York-based independent curator and art critic, will be available. Levis Fine Art is proud to represent the estate of Beauford Delaney.
Levis Fine Art
514 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
(646) 620-5000
Contact: James Levis
Email:
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10am-6pm or by appointment
*A commemorative reception for Richard A. Long will be held at the Galerie Intemporel, 37, rue Quincampoix, Paris 4e at 5 PM today.