Beauford at the Art Institute of Chicago
Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting “Beauford Delaney: From Paris to Beyond” at the G. R. N’Namdi Gallery. The talk was extremely well received, and I was proud to announce to the audience that Les Amis de Beauford Delaney has reached its fundraising goal.
I was also pleased to announce that, earlier in the day, I had had the opportunity to visit the Art Institute of Chicago to see the Beauford Delaney works that this museum owns. The trip was most educational and enjoyable! The museum holds three paintings, two of which are not on public display.
I have already presented the 1944 self-portrait that hangs in Gallery 262 at the Art Institute of Chicago in previous blog postings (You've Got the Eye; Cid Corman's Poetic Tribute to Beauford). But a friend recently visited the gallery and took some extraordinary photos of the painting, and I would like to share them with you here. Note the very heavy streaks of paint that Beauford used to create this image of himself.
As vivid and compelling as these photos are, the painting itself is even more striking!
A second work (see image below) is in storage. I made an appointment with the American Art department to see it. Associate Curator Sarah Kelly took me into the basement of the museum and located the room in which the painting is stored. We looked at it for several minutes together. There is no signature or date on the front of the painting, but the date “1965” was indicated in pencil on the rear of the painting. Other information about the date and acquisition was presented on two labels affixed to the rear of the work. The work itself is a conglomerate of curves, swipes, and splotches of paint in varying shades of green, yellow, and melon. I thought that I saw two cowboys amidst the colorful swirls!
Sarah accompanied me to the Prints and Drawings Department, where I saw the third Delaney that is owned by the museum. Though it is a painting, the museum has classified it as a drawing because it is painted with a transparent medium (watercolor) and is on paper. The Prints and Drawings department is equipped to store and display such works, which require special preservation. Works held by this department are displayed for three months, and then placed back into storage to preserve them.
Curator Mark Pascale talked with me at length about this painting, which is untitled. He said that the colors of the painting were greatly faded, and showed me how to recognize the fading of the “cream wove”paper that Beauford used for this work as well. Mark described watercolor as a “fugitive medium,” and said that it has “inherent vice.” I found this description (which indicates the fragile nature of watercolor) amusing, and Mark said that the first time he heard it, it amused him as well.
As well as watercolor, Beauford also used gouache for this painting. Gouache is a mixture of opaque white paint with watercolor. This mixture can be made transparent by adding water.
Beauford painted this work for his friends Miriam and Palmer Hayden. His inscription—Pour Mariam & Palmer with love Beauford—and the date—“ ’61”—are barely visible. The painting was acquired from the Haydens by artist and art historian Semella Lewis, who in turn presented it to an art dealer, who sold it to the museum.
I highly recommend a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago to see Beauford’s works. You may phone the Prints and Drawings Department for an appointment to see the watercolor and gouache painting. The American Art Department may also grant a request to see the oil painting that is in storage, but only if you visit alone.
I was also pleased to announce that, earlier in the day, I had had the opportunity to visit the Art Institute of Chicago to see the Beauford Delaney works that this museum owns. The trip was most educational and enjoyable! The museum holds three paintings, two of which are not on public display.
I have already presented the 1944 self-portrait that hangs in Gallery 262 at the Art Institute of Chicago in previous blog postings (You've Got the Eye; Cid Corman's Poetic Tribute to Beauford). But a friend recently visited the gallery and took some extraordinary photos of the painting, and I would like to share them with you here. Note the very heavy streaks of paint that Beauford used to create this image of himself.
Photos of Beauford's 1944 Self-portrait
Photos courtesy of Tim Paulson
As vivid and compelling as these photos are, the painting itself is even more striking!
A second work (see image below) is in storage. I made an appointment with the American Art department to see it. Associate Curator Sarah Kelly took me into the basement of the museum and located the room in which the painting is stored. We looked at it for several minutes together. There is no signature or date on the front of the painting, but the date “1965” was indicated in pencil on the rear of the painting. Other information about the date and acquisition was presented on two labels affixed to the rear of the work. The work itself is a conglomerate of curves, swipes, and splotches of paint in varying shades of green, yellow, and melon. I thought that I saw two cowboys amidst the colorful swirls!
Untitled by Beauford Delaney
(1965) Oil on canvas
Image courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
Sarah accompanied me to the Prints and Drawings Department, where I saw the third Delaney that is owned by the museum. Though it is a painting, the museum has classified it as a drawing because it is painted with a transparent medium (watercolor) and is on paper. The Prints and Drawings department is equipped to store and display such works, which require special preservation. Works held by this department are displayed for three months, and then placed back into storage to preserve them.
Photo of “Untitled” (1961) by Beauford Delaney
© Discover Paris!
Curator Mark Pascale talked with me at length about this painting, which is untitled. He said that the colors of the painting were greatly faded, and showed me how to recognize the fading of the “cream wove”paper that Beauford used for this work as well. Mark described watercolor as a “fugitive medium,” and said that it has “inherent vice.” I found this description (which indicates the fragile nature of watercolor) amusing, and Mark said that the first time he heard it, it amused him as well.
As well as watercolor, Beauford also used gouache for this painting. Gouache is a mixture of opaque white paint with watercolor. This mixture can be made transparent by adding water.
Beauford painted this work for his friends Miriam and Palmer Hayden. His inscription—Pour Mariam & Palmer with love Beauford—and the date—“ ’61”—are barely visible. The painting was acquired from the Haydens by artist and art historian Semella Lewis, who in turn presented it to an art dealer, who sold it to the museum.
I highly recommend a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago to see Beauford’s works. You may phone the Prints and Drawings Department for an appointment to see the watercolor and gouache painting. The American Art Department may also grant a request to see the oil painting that is in storage, but only if you visit alone.
Fundraising Success!
I am very pleased to announce that Les Amis de Beauford Delaney has successfully achieved its fundraising goal! Many thanks all of our donors, whose names you will find listed in the right margin. Special thanks go to the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery for having submitted the contribution that allowed us to reach $8500!
Things are moving along swiftly now. Beauford's tombstone has been ordered, and the target date for the preparation of the gravesite and the installation of the stone is July 15, 2010. We are beginning to make plans for the commemorative ceremony that will be held at the gravesite at Thiais Cemetery in August or September 2010, the 57th anniversary of Beauford's setting sail for Paris. We plan to hold a reception in Paris afterward. The exact date has yet to be determined. Details will follow as the organization of this historic event progresses.
Photo to be used for Beauford's tombstone
c. 1960, possibly taken by Gjon Mili
Courtesy of Richard Gibson
Also, if you still wish to contribute, please feel free to do so by clicking on the "Donate" button in the right margin beneath the color photo of Beauford's final resting place, or by contacting Les Amis at amisdebeauford(at)yahoo(dot)com to receive an address to which you may send a check. Funds will be used to defray the cost of the commemorative ceremony.
Beauford at the George R. N’Namdi Gallery in Chicago
I am pleased to announce that I will present “Beauford Delaney: From Paris to Beyond” at the George R. N’Namdi Gallery, 110 North Peoria in Chicago on June 17, 2010 at 5:30 PM. I encourage everyone in the Chicago area to attend – it would be my pleasure to meet you and to share with you my perspective on Beauford’s life and art!
In honor of the occasion, the G. R. N’Namdi Gallery granted me an interview, which you can find below.
Les Amis: Please describe the gallery and its mission.
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: George N'Namdi, who holds a doctorate in psychology, correlated positive mental health with art appreciation and living with art through his research and practice as a clinical psychologist. This was a significant factor in the foundation of the G.R. N'Namdi Gallery in 1981, whose mission is to encourage collectors to develop an appreciation for the historical value of the arts, while increasing awareness of abstract art and inspiring a new generation of art collectors. The father-son-operated gallery exhibits at its locations in Chicago, Detroit and New York, and through partnerships and collaborations with universities, museums and organizations internationally.
Les Amis: How do you select the artists that you represent?
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: We select the artists that we feel are making a contribution to the arts. In other words, artists who have a unique voice that adds to the "literature" of arts.
Les Amis: What inspired you select Beauford Delaney as one of the artists whose work you represent?
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: Because of his contributions, pushing of the envelope, he's an originator. His works have elements of originality.
Les Amis: Where/how did you acquire your Delaneys? Private acquisitions? Auction?
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: We've acquired Delaneys in different ways, mostly by purchases from his estate and private collectors.
Les Amis: Is his work popular among your clients?
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: He is known, particularly among serious collectors. He work is still growing in awareness.
Les Amis: You recently held an event whose purpose was to educate people on how to purchase art. How would you advise someone who wanted to become a collector of Delaneys?
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: First, research him. Then, find one that you like, that is always the first step. Also, you find one that fits into your vision as a collector.
Les Amis: Please talk about the film that you are creating on African-American artists around the world. How will Beauford figure into this film?
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: Yes, Beauford is featured in the documentary film, Art Legacy Abroad: In Search of the Light, http://www.artlegacyabroad.com/. While in Paris, we filmed one of his former homes, and he was mentioned by several of the artists in their interviews during the film.
In honor of the occasion, the G. R. N’Namdi Gallery granted me an interview, which you can find below.
Interior of George R. N'Namdi Gallery, Chicago
Courtesy of George R. N'Namdi Gallery
Les Amis: Please describe the gallery and its mission.
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: George N'Namdi, who holds a doctorate in psychology, correlated positive mental health with art appreciation and living with art through his research and practice as a clinical psychologist. This was a significant factor in the foundation of the G.R. N'Namdi Gallery in 1981, whose mission is to encourage collectors to develop an appreciation for the historical value of the arts, while increasing awareness of abstract art and inspiring a new generation of art collectors. The father-son-operated gallery exhibits at its locations in Chicago, Detroit and New York, and through partnerships and collaborations with universities, museums and organizations internationally.
Les Amis: How do you select the artists that you represent?
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: We select the artists that we feel are making a contribution to the arts. In other words, artists who have a unique voice that adds to the "literature" of arts.
Les Amis: What inspired you select Beauford Delaney as one of the artists whose work you represent?
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: Because of his contributions, pushing of the envelope, he's an originator. His works have elements of originality.
Untitled
Beauford Delaney
(1965) Oil on canvas
Courtesy of George N'Namdi Gallery
Les Amis: Where/how did you acquire your Delaneys? Private acquisitions? Auction?
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: We've acquired Delaneys in different ways, mostly by purchases from his estate and private collectors.
Les Amis: Is his work popular among your clients?
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: He is known, particularly among serious collectors. He work is still growing in awareness.
Les Amis: You recently held an event whose purpose was to educate people on how to purchase art. How would you advise someone who wanted to become a collector of Delaneys?
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: First, research him. Then, find one that you like, that is always the first step. Also, you find one that fits into your vision as a collector.
Les Amis: Please talk about the film that you are creating on African-American artists around the world. How will Beauford figure into this film?
G. R. N’Namdi Gallery: Yes, Beauford is featured in the documentary film, Art Legacy Abroad: In Search of the Light, http://www.artlegacyabroad.com/. While in Paris, we filmed one of his former homes, and he was mentioned by several of the artists in their interviews during the film.
**********
Note: There are still five days left to bid on the Gentry serigraph. Click here to place your bid now!
ArtNet Auction of Herb Gentry Serigraph is Live!
A couple of weeks ago, I reported in a blog posting that Mary Anne Rose donated a Herb Gentry serigraph to benefit the Beauford Delaney Gravesite Project. I am thrilled to inform you that ArtNet has placed the work up for auction as of 4:30 PM Eastern Time on June 8. Bidding is now open!
Mary Anne Rose provides the following description of the print:
Once again, many thanks to Mary Anne Rose and the Estate of Herbert Gentry for this fine donation!
Always Green
Herbert Gentry
Serigraph (2000)
Mary Anne Rose provides the following description of the print:
Always Green was done at the period the artist was working on his final three editions published by GR N’Namdi Gallery in conjunction with his book Herbert Gentry: The Man The Magic The Master. Always Green is among the artist’s final works. This serigraph was printed in 2000 at Lime Grafik in Malmo, Sweden.
Always Green is about regeneration. In the work of Herbert Gentry, the Green man refers to different aspects of fertility, as well as spiritual growth and transformation. Gentry saw his art as direct contact with the unconscious, and as an artist, he neither consciously determined a work's subjective import nor final appearance. Thus, his works trace states of being and change. The Green Man theme relates to larger paintings like Spiritually Green (1978) and He Seeth All (1962) and On All Sides (1990). Gentry realized his figurative imagery through process and each work evolved out of spontaneous and direct gesture.Always Green will be available for bidding until Thursday, June 17th at 4:30 PM Eastern Time. The opening bid is $1500. Please click here to visit the ArtNet site and place your bid.
Once again, many thanks to Mary Anne Rose and the Estate of Herbert Gentry for this fine donation!
Richard Hadlock Remembers Beauford
Richard Hadlock is the host of San Mateo's KCSM FM radio show Annals of Jazz. He has been broadcasting jazz for more than 50 years, and is the author of Jazz Masters of the Twenties (Da Capo, 1988 [first published in 1965]). In addition, he is a professional jazz saxophonist who has appeared on dozens of albums. Hadlock studied with Sidney Bechet, Garvin Bushell, Lee Konitz, and, in Rio de Janeiro, the popular bandleader/saxophonist Zaccarias. He remembers Beauford in the text below:
Beauford Delaney was our landlord. In 1951, Tony Hagert and I moved into a vacant second-floor loft above a Greenwich Village trucking firm. Beauford, who lived on the third floor of the old Greene Street warehouse, had been paying, I believe, 30 dollars a month for both floors. Each loft offered a toilet and a cold-water tap, nothing more. Ours had not been occupied for more than a decade and it required days of cutting through the soot, grime and crud. Tony and I paid 30 dollars to Beauford and he could now live rent-free.
Most of what Beauford owned was given to him. He was especially fond of his record player and his collection of 78 rpm records by artists such as Bessie Smith, Sidney Bechet and Duke Ellington. Often his yells of ecstasy over jazz came drifting down to us on the second floor. Visiting upstairs was not unlike entering a temple. Beauford usually sat, Buddha-like, on his large bed under an elaborate canopy of white sheets, surrounded by colorful paintings. He seemed, to me, to love everyone and every thing.
When our building was scheduled for demolition by its new owner, New York University, we had to move. Tony had just been called up for military duty. Beauford and I walked the streets of the lower Village and as far East as Second Avenue, hoping for another cheap loft to fit both our ways of life. At that time --1952?-- Beauford told me he didn't want to follow, sheep-like, the many artists who had moved to Paris. He loved New York and often found inspiration in humble scenes such as Greene Street homeless men trying to warm themselves with fires set in trash cans.
Somehow we ended up going on separate paths. I rented a rickety flat on Second Avenue. Beauford, who, child-like, could not survive without the generous support of friends and admirers, finally gave in to the call of Paris.
Beauford Delaney was our landlord. In 1951, Tony Hagert and I moved into a vacant second-floor loft above a Greenwich Village trucking firm. Beauford, who lived on the third floor of the old Greene Street warehouse, had been paying, I believe, 30 dollars a month for both floors. Each loft offered a toilet and a cold-water tap, nothing more. Ours had not been occupied for more than a decade and it required days of cutting through the soot, grime and crud. Tony and I paid 30 dollars to Beauford and he could now live rent-free.
Greene Street (as it appears in Amazing Grace)
Beauford Delaney
Beauford Delaney
Oil on Canvas (1946)
© Discover Paris!
Most of what Beauford owned was given to him. He was especially fond of his record player and his collection of 78 rpm records by artists such as Bessie Smith, Sidney Bechet and Duke Ellington. Often his yells of ecstasy over jazz came drifting down to us on the second floor. Visiting upstairs was not unlike entering a temple. Beauford usually sat, Buddha-like, on his large bed under an elaborate canopy of white sheets, surrounded by colorful paintings. He seemed, to me, to love everyone and every thing.
When our building was scheduled for demolition by its new owner, New York University, we had to move. Tony had just been called up for military duty. Beauford and I walked the streets of the lower Village and as far East as Second Avenue, hoping for another cheap loft to fit both our ways of life. At that time --1952?-- Beauford told me he didn't want to follow, sheep-like, the many artists who had moved to Paris. He loved New York and often found inspiration in humble scenes such as Greene Street homeless men trying to warm themselves with fires set in trash cans.
Somehow we ended up going on separate paths. I rented a rickety flat on Second Avenue. Beauford, who, child-like, could not survive without the generous support of friends and admirers, finally gave in to the call of Paris.
A Colorful and Generous Donation!
When I wrote to http://www.herbertgentry.com/ several days ago to obtain permission to use the photograph of Herb Gentry in last week's posting, little did I know that I would receive a generous outpouring of support from his widow, Mary Anne Rose!
Rose sent a return e-mail message within 24 hours, not only to tell me that I could use the photograph, but also to indicate that she wished to donate a Gentry serigraph (silkscreen) to be sold in support of the Beauford Delaney Gravesite Project. "I know Gentry would have given a piece of his art to stimulate other giving," she wrote.
In a second message, she relayed the following:
The work is called Always Green (2000). It is from an edition of 150. The paper size is 15.25" x 11.5".
We are planning to place this beautiful serigraph up for auction as soon as we set up an account with a fine arts auction house. Until that time, the work will be available for purchase at the price of $1,500.00. If you are a collector, or know of one, who would like to acquire this work, please contact me at amisdebeauford(at)yahoo.com as soon as possible.
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney thanks Mary Anne Rose for her generous contribution!
Rose sent a return e-mail message within 24 hours, not only to tell me that I could use the photograph, but also to indicate that she wished to donate a Gentry serigraph (silkscreen) to be sold in support of the Beauford Delaney Gravesite Project. "I know Gentry would have given a piece of his art to stimulate other giving," she wrote.
In a second message, she relayed the following:
I met Beauford Delaney twice, at the end of his life. It was when Gentry and I lived at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris (1978-1980), at the beginning of our lives together. Beauford was ill and residing at St. Anne's. The first time I met him, we found him in the garden wearing bright blue pajamas and a yellow straw hat, like the Van Gogh self-portrait. The attendants said they knew he was very special. The second and last time I saw him he was in bed, little and frail. He would not live much longer. Both times when Herb introduced me, Beauford took my hand and held it very gently.
The work is called Always Green (2000). It is from an edition of 150. The paper size is 15.25" x 11.5".
Always Green
Herbert Gentry
Serigraph (2000)
We are planning to place this beautiful serigraph up for auction as soon as we set up an account with a fine arts auction house. Until that time, the work will be available for purchase at the price of $1,500.00. If you are a collector, or know of one, who would like to acquire this work, please contact me at amisdebeauford(at)yahoo.com as soon as possible.
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney thanks Mary Anne Rose for her generous contribution!
Herbert Gentry on Beauford
Herb Gentry (1919-2003) was one of several African-American artists who moved to Paris after World War II. He was a friend of Beauford and speaks extensively of Beauford in the interview below.
The entire text of this posting is taken from the following source, which is in the public domain:
Oral history interview with Herbert Gentry, 1991 May 23, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. It has not been modified. The interview was conducted by Lisa Kirwin.
MR. GENTRY: ...And then when I finally decided to go it was 1953. Beauford, I didn’t know him well. And then when I got on the boat I looked around to see who’s on the boat and -- did I tell you this? [Liza confirms] He was on the same boat and I spent all the time with him and it was a beautiful experience. This man was so philosophical. And then I guess he talked about things that we both never, you look at the sky – look at the blue and the clouds and we would talk about this and we would talk about feelings and thoughts and it was a beautiful time I spent those five or six days with him. And he had never been outside the States, but I had been to Paris.
And then we arrived at Le Havre and some people came to pick him up. I don’t know what happened, I went directly to -- I’ve forgot where I went but I was in Paris, I knew Paris. But I did ask him, I said, “Anything I can do for you?” He said, “No, I have friends who’re going to pick me up.” And then they picked him up and I went elsewhere.
And then eventually I saw him in Montparnasse. He became an artist in Montparnasse and everybody knew him in Montparnasse because he was a person that, he was a great artist. But the greatest philosopher I’ve ever met. He was older than most of the students, so he had all these wise sayings, and anybody had any psychological problem they would go and see him. Like for example, one time something was happening, I didn’t know, I went to see him. He said, “What’s the matter?” “Well,” I said, “the money’s low, I’m very unhappy and I don’t want to write home for money and I’ve money coming in.” And he would open a little purse he’d carried, he opened it and he said, “Look, I have enough for a little coffee and a croissant for -- oh yes, now tell me: what’s the matter?”
And then later I met a painter named Larry Potter, an African-American painter, Larry Potter, a great friend of mine, who “passed” in Paris, who would eventually exhibit in New York, I’d have to write the forward to his exhibition. Both the Delaneys liked him very much and he was a very sensitive person. I remember we would walk to visit Beauford in his studio and in his studio everything was spick and span. And he’d have these big American white sheets all over everything. [Speaking in high falsetto] “-- with Beauford.” Everything was covered, this was part of his little illness become, I think. I mean hit a certain niveau [level] and after that you know you go right to the top in thinking and philosophy, philosophical statements. And then I think the mind can’t go any further. He was so great, in everything -- in painting, knowledge, warmth.
Larry was very sensitive too. We would knock on his studio door and Larry would say, “Pardon me, open”. He said, “All right, if you’re not busy, can we come see you now?” That was very important to respect his privacy. He said, “Oh yes, you and Herbert Gentry, always.” Invariably we’d sit down and he’d fix us a little tea and he’d do his hands like this. [Liza laughs] We had a wonderful time. When he was in Montparnasse, the center, one of the cafes, Select Cafe, or the Dom, all the waiters, all the French people, Monsieur Beauford and he didn’t speak hardly any French but they all respected him. He was so kind. And it was the duty of all the artists in Montparnasse if they saw Beauford out there pretty late at night, they would take him home. He was a concern. He was very important to the American art life in Paris. And he was a great friend of James Baldwin [author], too, I guess you know that.
MS. KIRWIN: Yes, I was going to ask then you watched him progressively go – his mind?
MR. GENTRY: This is what happened. See, I was invited to exhibit in Denmark in 1959 when the Danish painters were invited to exhibit at the Riverside Museum. It was an honor, and they were the most famous Danish painters. But this museum does not exist any more, the Riverside Museum in New York; and I was invited to go to Denmark. So I went to Denmark and I had this exhibition and I stayed in Denmark for awhile, I worked there.
But I kept the studio in Paris, and I would go back from time to time; out of the year I was back to Paris every three or four months. What were we talking about?
MS. KIRWIN: I was asking about his health.
MR. GENTRY: Oh yes. So as soon as I’d go to Paris he would be one of the few that I’d know I had to see right away -- Larry Potter, my friend who had died, and Beauford Delaney and a number of friends but those two were the first two or three or four that I would go and see. So I would go and see him. Then I noticed that he started to get really away from me, he wasn’t very clear in what he was saying, he was going way up in the sky about what was happening, but it was [laughing] beautifully poetic. And I loved him. He would make statements like, “The sun is a sunny red.” He was right. [Laughter.] And you go with him and then you say, hey, you know, but maybe he’s a little off, but he was so great.
So he was very happy when I would come and give him a hug and we would talk and I’d find out if he had any money. I always would have a little money and I’d take him to dinner. And one time Romare Bearden came and spent about two weeks in Paris and he and Annette, his wife, widow. First he would ask for Beauford and then we took him down to an American restaurant, [belonging to] a fellow named Haynes [Leroy “Roughhouse” Haynes]. You never heard of him?
An American restaurant in Montmartre and we went there. Soon as he finished – “Beauford was hungry, he ate so well,” but all of a sudden right after he finished wanted to go right back to Montparnasse, that was his home area, see he knew that. Then I knew that he was getting old, because he got nervous, but while he was eating he was hungry -- maybe hadn’t eaten that day. Not because he didn’t have money but this sickness was starting.
And then I heard someone say that he gave some of his paintings away. I went and found that person, I got those paintings back. But then he started giving some paintings away. Some people might have taken advantage of him, took his paintings.
The entire text of this posting is taken from the following source, which is in the public domain:
Oral history interview with Herbert Gentry, 1991 May 23, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. It has not been modified. The interview was conducted by Lisa Kirwin.
Herbert Gentry
© 1992 Walter Backen
Lomma, Sweden
Courtesy of Mary Anne Rose
Courtesy of Mary Anne Rose
MR. GENTRY: ...And then when I finally decided to go it was 1953. Beauford, I didn’t know him well. And then when I got on the boat I looked around to see who’s on the boat and -- did I tell you this? [Liza confirms] He was on the same boat and I spent all the time with him and it was a beautiful experience. This man was so philosophical. And then I guess he talked about things that we both never, you look at the sky – look at the blue and the clouds and we would talk about this and we would talk about feelings and thoughts and it was a beautiful time I spent those five or six days with him. And he had never been outside the States, but I had been to Paris.
Photo of a photo of Beauford on the deck of the ship Liberté
© Discover Paris!
And then we arrived at Le Havre and some people came to pick him up. I don’t know what happened, I went directly to -- I’ve forgot where I went but I was in Paris, I knew Paris. But I did ask him, I said, “Anything I can do for you?” He said, “No, I have friends who’re going to pick me up.” And then they picked him up and I went elsewhere.
And then eventually I saw him in Montparnasse. He became an artist in Montparnasse and everybody knew him in Montparnasse because he was a person that, he was a great artist. But the greatest philosopher I’ve ever met. He was older than most of the students, so he had all these wise sayings, and anybody had any psychological problem they would go and see him. Like for example, one time something was happening, I didn’t know, I went to see him. He said, “What’s the matter?” “Well,” I said, “the money’s low, I’m very unhappy and I don’t want to write home for money and I’ve money coming in.” And he would open a little purse he’d carried, he opened it and he said, “Look, I have enough for a little coffee and a croissant for -- oh yes, now tell me: what’s the matter?”
Sketch of Herb Gentry by Beauford Delaney
"Trying to make a wonder genius. With Glory!"
Courtesy of Mary Anne Rose and the Gentry Estate
And you know, I never really tell people all my problems. All of a sudden I caught myself: wow, great psychiatrist here, psychologist. And I’m talking to him and opening up and feeling better, I mean really. I realized -- well, I knew that later -- how important it is to have someone to talk to, have a dialogue, or have someone you can talk to and they would listen, maybe advise. And he would say these things. I felt good, you know! And that’s what he did to many people -- the French and everything, yes. He was a great artist, I would visit him from time to time.And then later I met a painter named Larry Potter, an African-American painter, Larry Potter, a great friend of mine, who “passed” in Paris, who would eventually exhibit in New York, I’d have to write the forward to his exhibition. Both the Delaneys liked him very much and he was a very sensitive person. I remember we would walk to visit Beauford in his studio and in his studio everything was spick and span. And he’d have these big American white sheets all over everything. [Speaking in high falsetto] “-- with Beauford.” Everything was covered, this was part of his little illness become, I think. I mean hit a certain niveau [level] and after that you know you go right to the top in thinking and philosophy, philosophical statements. And then I think the mind can’t go any further. He was so great, in everything -- in painting, knowledge, warmth.
Larry Potter in Explorations of the City of Light Catalog
© Discover Paris!
MS. KIRWIN: Yes, I was going to ask then you watched him progressively go – his mind?
MR. GENTRY: This is what happened. See, I was invited to exhibit in Denmark in 1959 when the Danish painters were invited to exhibit at the Riverside Museum. It was an honor, and they were the most famous Danish painters. But this museum does not exist any more, the Riverside Museum in New York; and I was invited to go to Denmark. So I went to Denmark and I had this exhibition and I stayed in Denmark for awhile, I worked there.
But I kept the studio in Paris, and I would go back from time to time; out of the year I was back to Paris every three or four months. What were we talking about?
MS. KIRWIN: I was asking about his health.
MR. GENTRY: Oh yes. So as soon as I’d go to Paris he would be one of the few that I’d know I had to see right away -- Larry Potter, my friend who had died, and Beauford Delaney and a number of friends but those two were the first two or three or four that I would go and see. So I would go and see him. Then I noticed that he started to get really away from me, he wasn’t very clear in what he was saying, he was going way up in the sky about what was happening, but it was [laughing] beautifully poetic. And I loved him. He would make statements like, “The sun is a sunny red.” He was right. [Laughter.] And you go with him and then you say, hey, you know, but maybe he’s a little off, but he was so great.
So he was very happy when I would come and give him a hug and we would talk and I’d find out if he had any money. I always would have a little money and I’d take him to dinner. And one time Romare Bearden came and spent about two weeks in Paris and he and Annette, his wife, widow. First he would ask for Beauford and then we took him down to an American restaurant, [belonging to] a fellow named Haynes [Leroy “Roughhouse” Haynes]. You never heard of him?
Portrait of Leroy Haynes
Photo © 2005 Discover Paris!
An American restaurant in Montmartre and we went there. Soon as he finished – “Beauford was hungry, he ate so well,” but all of a sudden right after he finished wanted to go right back to Montparnasse, that was his home area, see he knew that. Then I knew that he was getting old, because he got nervous, but while he was eating he was hungry -- maybe hadn’t eaten that day. Not because he didn’t have money but this sickness was starting.
Haynes Restaurant
(Closed in 2009)
© 2005 Discover Paris!
And then I heard someone say that he gave some of his paintings away. I went and found that person, I got those paintings back. But then he started giving some paintings away. Some people might have taken advantage of him, took his paintings.
End of excerpt
Beauford's Paris Café Life
From the first days that Beauford arrived in Paris, he enjoyed café life. This posting presents contemporary photos of some of his favorite cafés in Montparnasse and near the Saint Germain district on the Left Bank.
Le Select
La Coupole
Le Select
Le Select
99, boulevard du Montparnasse
75006 Paris
© Discover Paris!
Personal communications from Burt Reinfrank and long time African-American expatriate Tannie Stovall indicate that Beauford was often seen at the Select. He was frequently surrounded by "friends," some of whom were inclined to take advantage of his generous nature and allowed him to pay for food and drink for everyone though he could ill afford it. In Amazing Grace
, biographer David Leeming recounts that in Beauford's later years, he would sometimes order large meals here or at Le Dôme (see below) and have no funds to pay the bill. The café owners knew Beauford so well that they would ignore the unpaid bill. At times, a friend of Beauford would cover the charges.
, biographer David Leeming recounts that in Beauford's later years, he would sometimes order large meals here or at Le Dôme (see below) and have no funds to pay the bill. The café owners knew Beauford so well that they would ignore the unpaid bill. At times, a friend of Beauford would cover the charges.The Select was also a favorite of a contemporary African-American artist and friend of Beauford, Ed Clark.
Le Dôme
Le Dôme
108, boulevard du Montparnasse
75014 Paris
© Discover Paris!
David Leeming recounts that on Beauford's first night in Paris, he felt restless and decided to leave his hotel at around 11PM to buy a sandwich. He entered Le Dôme, the first place that he encountered, and was pleasantly surprised to find a painter friend from New York inside. Earl Kirkham was in the company of many other Americans, and Beauford joined them for an evening of merriment. Beauford would return to his hotel at three or four the following morning.
Ed Clark recounted an amusing anecdote about Beauford and the Dôme to me several years ago. He and Beauford once sold paintings to a white American here. After having completed the transaction, he and Beauford sat down to share a few drinks with the buyer. Because the man had been purchasing art all day, he did not have the money to pay his bar tab at the end of the day. Thus he asked Beauford if he would kindly take his paintings back in exchange for the money, which Beauford did.
Beauford's friend Richard Gibson indicates that Beauford was often at Le Dôme.
Beauford's friend Richard Gibson indicates that Beauford was often at Le Dôme.
La Coupole
La Coupole
102, boulevard du Montparnasse
75014 Paris
© Discover Paris!
Gibson also indicates that Beauford and his friends sometimes frequented La Coupole. Though this was the most expensive of the Carrefour Vavin cafés at the time (Le Dôme is by far the most expensive at present), Beauford and friends such as Ed Clark were occasionally able to afford to eat on the left side of the restaurant, which was cheaper than the right side where tables were set with cloth napkins. Michel Fabre and John A. Williams' A Street Guide to African Americans in Paris mentions a happy evening that Beauford spent here in the company of fellow painter Herb Gentry and writer Lindsay Barrett.
Au Petit Suisse and Le Tournon
Au Petit Suisse
16, rue de Vaugirard
75006 Paris
© Discover Paris!
Richard Gibson also recounts that Beauford did not like the Café Tournon, the famous hangout for African-American expats in the post-World War II era. He says that Beauford found it "too macho and not very friendly" the few times that he managed to get Beauford to go there, and that Beauford preferred Au Petit Suisse, which is located across the street from the Odéon Theater and the Luxembourg Garden. The two cafés are still in existence, and are less than a five minute walk apart.
Café Tournon
18, rue de Tournon
75006 Paris
18, rue de Tournon
75006 Paris
© Discover Paris!
In Amazing Grace, David Leeming states that Beauford would sometimes go to the Tournon in the company of James Baldwin and his entourage, and would even go there alone on occasion to engage in philosophical discussions. Richard Wright was a domineering force during these discussions (and not particularly welcoming to gay men), and Leeming indicates that Beauford and Wright were never close.
The Tournon lists Beauford, Ellington, Baldwin, Wright, and other African Americans on the history page of its Web site (in French). There is a vintage photograph of Beauford and Duke Ellington seated at a table in the café that the servers may be willing to show you if you inquire at the bar!
The Tournon lists Beauford, Ellington, Baldwin, Wright, and other African Americans on the history page of its Web site (in French). There is a vintage photograph of Beauford and Duke Ellington seated at a table in the café that the servers may be willing to show you if you inquire at the bar!
Thanks to our Donors and New Appeal for Contributions!
Beauford Delaney (1901-1979)
Self-Portrait, 1950
pastel, charcoal and watercolor on paper
15" x 12 1/2", signed
© Estate of Beauford Delaney; Private Collection
Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York , NY
Patrick Albano, Aaron Galleries
James Armstrong
Estate of James Baldwin
Shelley Bradford-Bell
Sue Canterbury
Frank Carner, in honor of Irene and Billy Rose
Richard Gibson
Barney Kirchhoff
David Leeming
Richard A. Long
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
The Reinfrank Family
Catherine St. John
Richard L. Sewell
Mary Sewell Smith
Clarence and Collie Wells
Monique Y. Wells (U.S. Federal Assistance Award)
I would also like to thank one donor who wishes to remain anonymous.
You may have noticed that the donor list is now posted in the sidebar directly beneath our "Donate" button. I will continue to add names to the sidebar, and will acknowledge future contributors in postings, as I have done here.
As I mentioned in a previous message, we are targeting August 2010 for completion of the installation of the tombstone. We now have enough money to begin the preparatory work for the gravesite, and have asked the funeral parlor to order the required materials. But we still need to collect $3100 to reach our goal! We need this money urgently so that we may order the tombstone as soon as possible to have it in place for the commemorative ceremony that we plan to hold in August. Therefore, I ask that you continue to spread the word about our project and encourage your friends and colleagues to donate. If you personally have not yet made a contribution, please consider doing so. Every dollar and euro count!
Sincerely,
Monique
President, Les Amis de Beauford Delaney
"You've Got the Eye"
In a recent posting of an anecdote about Beauford, Burt Reinfrank indicated that Beauford would frequently say to Burt, "You've got the eye."
While this may have been true in the context that Beauford was speaking—Burt could easily distinguish original Delaneys from copies or fraudulent pieces)—in fact, it is Beauford who “had the eye.” Whether or not he knew it consciously, we may never know. But one can certainly see it in his paintings, and particularly in his self-portraits.
In Beauford’s formative years as an artist, capturing likeness was his primary goal in portraiture. But during his New York years, he began to take painterly liberties with his portraits of Harlem residents, and in his Paris years, his portraits of others reflected his increasing concern with color and the “inner light” of his subjects in opposition to likeness. Author David Leeming cites an example of this attitude in Amazing Grace, the only biography of Beauford in print thus far. In an exchange between Beauford and Elwood Peterson regarding Peterson’s portrait, Beauford states:
Sue Canterbury, curator of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts exposition entitled Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris
, states in her essay on Beauford’s life and work that “One eye sees without; the other within.” She elaborated on this comment for today’s blog posting, saying that she wished to draw attention to the difference between two types of vision that one might attribute to Beauford—one being the reading of external phenomena, and the other, reading/seeing on a deeper plane of meaning that one might call that spiritual or cosmic. Burt Reinfrank, a great friend of Beauford and a contributor to this blog, believes that Beauford was connected to humanity in a way that transcends our worldly consciousness, and stated that Beauford often spoke of “the cosmos.”
In looking at a series of Beauford’s self-portraits, the astute observer will note that there is often asymmetry in Beauford’s eyes. This irregularity differs from portrait to portrait, and is not a reflection of any physical disfigurement in Beauford’s face. Perhaps this is Beauford's way, consciously or subconsciously, of depicting the two types of vision described above.
While this may have been true in the context that Beauford was speaking—Burt could easily distinguish original Delaneys from copies or fraudulent pieces)—in fact, it is Beauford who “had the eye.” Whether or not he knew it consciously, we may never know. But one can certainly see it in his paintings, and particularly in his self-portraits.
In Beauford’s formative years as an artist, capturing likeness was his primary goal in portraiture. But during his New York years, he began to take painterly liberties with his portraits of Harlem residents, and in his Paris years, his portraits of others reflected his increasing concern with color and the “inner light” of his subjects in opposition to likeness. Author David Leeming cites an example of this attitude in Amazing Grace
, the only biography of Beauford in print thus far. In an exchange between Beauford and Elwood Peterson regarding Peterson’s portrait, Beauford states:If you wanted an exact likeness you could have gone to a photographer…when you sing you become eighteen again, and that’s what I wanted to capture.Peterson offered to buy the painting, but Beauford refused payment, giving the painting to his subject instead.
Sue Canterbury, curator of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts exposition entitled Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris
, states in her essay on Beauford’s life and work that “One eye sees without; the other within.” She elaborated on this comment for today’s blog posting, saying that she wished to draw attention to the difference between two types of vision that one might attribute to Beauford—one being the reading of external phenomena, and the other, reading/seeing on a deeper plane of meaning that one might call that spiritual or cosmic. Burt Reinfrank, a great friend of Beauford and a contributor to this blog, believes that Beauford was connected to humanity in a way that transcends our worldly consciousness, and stated that Beauford often spoke of “the cosmos.”In looking at a series of Beauford’s self-portraits, the astute observer will note that there is often asymmetry in Beauford’s eyes. This irregularity differs from portrait to portrait, and is not a reflection of any physical disfigurement in Beauford’s face. Perhaps this is Beauford's way, consciously or subconsciously, of depicting the two types of vision described above.
In his 1944 self-portrait, Beauford has represented his right eye as being entirely white. His left eye is larger than the right, rhomboid in shape, and one gets the impression that it has no lid. The pupil is light-colored and the surrounding iris black. In his 1950 self-portrait, it is the right eye that is smaller, with a black iris and no apparent pupil, while the left eye is a grayish tan with a clear tan iris and a dark pupil.
In his 1964 self-portrait, Beauford had retained the proportions that he used in his 1950 self-portrait. His face is gaunt, making the white of the almond-shaped left eye seem sunken in and the white of that eye more gleaming.
Self-portrait
Oil on canvas (1964)
Collection of the Reinfrank Family
In his 1972 portrait, he returns to marked asymmetry, this time accentuated by the fullness of his face. The left eye is larger and higher than the right, the iris is thin and the pupil large and light-colored—even mottled.
Self-portrait
Gouache on paper (1972)
Collection of David Leeming
Catherine St. John, a professor at Berkeley College in New Jersey and author of the essay “A Narrative of Belonging: The Art of Beauford Delaney and Glen Ligon,” describes the white eye in the 1944 self-portrait as “vacant,” and refers to the “monocular stare” that philosopher Jacques Derrida evoked in his Memoirs of the Blind: The Self-Portrait and Other Ruins – “a single eye open and fixed firmly on its own image, seeing nothing, nothing but an eye which prevents it from seeing anything at all.” St. John poses the rhetorical question “Are Delaney’s self-portraits attempts to find his own identity in his own image?”
In my opinion, Beauford’s numerous self-portraits are some of his most extraordinary oeuvre. (The ones presented here are but a few of them.) I encourage you to search for images of these works on line or to view them in person at museums and judge for yourself.
Beauford and the Civil Rights Movement
This month, we commemorate the forty-second anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was a well-respected figure in France as leader of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Two years ago, to mark the fortieth anniversary of his death, the city of Paris named a park in his honor.
Numerous African Americans lived in Paris during the Civil Rights Movement, including Beauford. His dear friend James Baldwin would return to the U.S. to take up the cause firsthand. Beauford encouraged Baldwin in this endeavor, and wrote admiringly of an essay called "Letter from a Region of My Mind" that would later appear in Baldwin's book The Fire Next Time. On the Minneapolis Museum of Art Web site that features the 2004-2005 exposition of Beauford's works called Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris, part of the description of Beauford's portrait of Baldwin entitled The Sage Black (1967) reads as follows:
Baldwin visited Beauford in December 1962 and May 1963, and the two discussed the latest news regarding the movement in the States. These discussions inspired Beauford to create his "Rosa Parks Series" - a number of paintings portraying a black woman sitting on a bench, either alone or with a white woman. The Leeming biography of Beauford indicates that the first sketch depicted Mrs. Parks sitting in a bus next to the words "I will not be moved."
Beauford wrote to Henry Miller about the movement in 1963, stating that his spirit was with the struggle and that "my prayers are with all the Blacks and Whites that they find the power and patience...to join in the nobler human dignity of sharing and existing together in peace." He would address Miller on the same topic in 1967, saying that he was interested in painting "portraits of Negroes in my fashion." He created several portraits of African Americans during the mid-60s, including Richard Long and Marian Anderson, as a result of this inspiration.
David Leeming states in his biography that Dr. King's assassination in 1968 had a "disastrous effect" on Beauford's mental health, and the student riots that subsequently occurred in Paris further upset his equilibrium. His friend Bernard Hassell eventually took him to the south of France for a six-week period, during which Beauford's psychological state improved greatly. The tumultuous year ended well, with Beauford being awarded a grant by the National Council for the Arts.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Photo from the collection of the Library of Congress
Numerous African Americans lived in Paris during the Civil Rights Movement, including Beauford. His dear friend James Baldwin would return to the U.S. to take up the cause firsthand. Beauford encouraged Baldwin in this endeavor, and wrote admiringly of an essay called "Letter from a Region of My Mind" that would later appear in Baldwin's book The Fire Next Time. On the Minneapolis Museum of Art Web site that features the 2004-2005 exposition of Beauford's works called Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris, part of the description of Beauford's portrait of Baldwin entitled The Sage Black (1967) reads as follows:
Filled with all the colors of a flame, this incendiary, combustible background peers through Baldwin's form, conveying the passion and fire that was such an integral part of the author who penned, just a few years before, the foreboding essay titled The Fire Next Time.
Baldwin visited Beauford in December 1962 and May 1963, and the two discussed the latest news regarding the movement in the States. These discussions inspired Beauford to create his "Rosa Parks Series" - a number of paintings portraying a black woman sitting on a bench, either alone or with a white woman. The Leeming biography of Beauford indicates that the first sketch depicted Mrs. Parks sitting in a bus next to the words "I will not be moved."
Beauford Delaney (1901-1979)
Rosa Parks, 1967
oil on canvas
31 3/4" x 25 1/2 "
Estate of Beauford Delaney, Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
Beauford wrote to Henry Miller about the movement in 1963, stating that his spirit was with the struggle and that "my prayers are with all the Blacks and Whites that they find the power and patience...to join in the nobler human dignity of sharing and existing together in peace." He would address Miller on the same topic in 1967, saying that he was interested in painting "portraits of Negroes in my fashion." He created several portraits of African Americans during the mid-60s, including Richard Long and Marian Anderson, as a result of this inspiration.
David Leeming states in his biography that Dr. King's assassination in 1968 had a "disastrous effect" on Beauford's mental health, and the student riots that subsequently occurred in Paris further upset his equilibrium. His friend Bernard Hassell eventually took him to the south of France for a six-week period, during which Beauford's psychological state improved greatly. The tumultuous year ended well, with Beauford being awarded a grant by the National Council for the Arts.
**********
Support the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial!
Remembrances of Beauford Delaney
An Anecdote by Burton Reinfrank
When I visited Beauford, we usually discussed art: the latest gallery shows, the State-sponsored shows at the national museums, etc. One comment Beauford often made to me during these discussions was "You've got the eye." I sometimes still hear Beauford's low, resonant voice saying it today.
We were discussing gallery shows and Beauford said "Have you been by the Facchetti Gallery lately?" I said I had not. (By this time - 1965 - Beauford had severed all contact with the Facchettis.) He said that two days before, he had walked by their gallery and saw through the window several large paintings on the wall, ostensibly by him. Beauford wasn't sure that Facchetti wasn't having someone do paintings in his style. He said, "Burt, you know my work well. Would you mind going by the gallery and have a look at my paintings and tell me what you think?" I said that I would.
I went to the gallery and had a good look, and reported back that the paintings were certainly by him. Beauford accepted this and never mentioned the subject again.
In 2005, I told this story to Paul Facchetti, who was then 92 years old. His response was, "Why would I have had paintings made in his style when I couldn't sell the ones I had?"
Burton Reinfrank was a long-time friend of Beauford from the Paris years. See the posting "Burt and Pat Reinfrank Remember Beauford" to learn more about their special relationship.
When I visited Beauford, we usually discussed art: the latest gallery shows, the State-sponsored shows at the national museums, etc. One comment Beauford often made to me during these discussions was "You've got the eye." I sometimes still hear Beauford's low, resonant voice saying it today.
We were discussing gallery shows and Beauford said "Have you been by the Facchetti Gallery lately?" I said I had not. (By this time - 1965 - Beauford had severed all contact with the Facchettis.) He said that two days before, he had walked by their gallery and saw through the window several large paintings on the wall, ostensibly by him. Beauford wasn't sure that Facchetti wasn't having someone do paintings in his style. He said, "Burt, you know my work well. Would you mind going by the gallery and have a look at my paintings and tell me what you think?" I said that I would.
Beauford at one of his expositions at the
Paul Facchetti Gallery
c.1961
© Paul Facchetti
I went to the gallery and had a good look, and reported back that the paintings were certainly by him. Beauford accepted this and never mentioned the subject again.
In 2005, I told this story to Paul Facchetti, who was then 92 years old. His response was, "Why would I have had paintings made in his style when I couldn't sell the ones I had?"
Burton Reinfrank was a long-time friend of Beauford from the Paris years. See the posting "Burt and Pat Reinfrank Remember Beauford" to learn more about their special relationship.
U.S. Ambassador Rivkin Gives Us His Support!
Shortly after I founded Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, I contacted the Cultural Affairs office of the U.S. Embassy in Paris to inform them of our project and to see what help they could provide. I spoke with Assistant Cultural Affairs officer Jennifer Bullock, who has been my contact, and a great ally, ever since.
One of the things that we discussed was whether or not Les Amis would be able to get the Ambassador Rivkin's support for our project. Ms. Bullock told me that she would send a request to the Ambassador's office. It took several weeks, but I eventually received a warm and encouraging missive from the Ambassador himself!
I am so pleased with the tone and content of this letter that I want to share it with you. See the text, in its entirety, below:
The Cultural Affairs office has encouraged me to attach this letter to fundraising appeals to indicate to potential contributors to the gravesite fund that the U.S. government supports Les Amis de Beauford Delaney. This is exactly what I am doing. I have written to corporate entities such as the New York Stock Exchange, museums and university art departments that currently own or have previously shown Beauford's works, and galleries that sell his works to ask them to support our cause. My hope is that these letters, in addition to this blog and the media releases that I publish, will serve to increase awareness of Beauford and his art as well as encourage donations in support of our cause.
We are now just beneath the $3000 mark in our fund. Once again, my humble and sincere thanks to those of you who have contributed thus far. I am planning to recognize our donors by placing a list of their names in the right margin of the blog. I will ask each donor's permission to publicly acknowledge him or her prior to creating the list. Look for it to appear soon!
If you have not yet contributed, I vigorously encourage you to do so! We still need $5500 to reach our fundraising goal for 2010.
Sincerely,
Monique
President, Les Amis de Beauford Delaney
One of the things that we discussed was whether or not Les Amis would be able to get the Ambassador Rivkin's support for our project. Ms. Bullock told me that she would send a request to the Ambassador's office. It took several weeks, but I eventually received a warm and encouraging missive from the Ambassador himself!
The Honorable Charles H. Rivkin
U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco
Photo from U.S. Embassy Web site
I am so pleased with the tone and content of this letter that I want to share it with you. See the text, in its entirety, below:
Dear Ms. Wells,
I congratulate you on your founding of the association, Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, which aims to preserve and honor the legacy of this important figure in twentieth century French and American art. Your association, which seeks in particular to place a monument on his final resting place in the Thiais cemetery, is maintaining the memory of a unique artist, whose life serves as an inspiration, and whose work, in addition to its aesthetic value, serves to preserve a special period in the history of both the United States and France.
As you well know, Beauford Delaney, a close friend of James Baldwin, produced work that is now part of both French and American cultural heritage. Delaney overcame poverty and the restrictions of segregation, following his dream to Paris, where he was able to paint and live freely in a culture that valued his work.
His work, which hangs in French embassies in Taiwan and Costa Rica as well as in U.S. museums such as the National Portrait Gallery, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, documents America in the 1930s and 40s, as well as American expatriate life in France. He later created beautiful abstract canvases celebrating color and light.
Delaney’s legacy therefore ought to be preserved and honored. Once again, I applaud your efforts and offer you my best wishes for the success of your association.
Sincerely,
Charles H. Rivkin
Jazz
Oil on canvas (1966)
French Embassy of Taipai, Taiwan
The Cultural Affairs office has encouraged me to attach this letter to fundraising appeals to indicate to potential contributors to the gravesite fund that the U.S. government supports Les Amis de Beauford Delaney. This is exactly what I am doing. I have written to corporate entities such as the New York Stock Exchange, museums and university art departments that currently own or have previously shown Beauford's works, and galleries that sell his works to ask them to support our cause. My hope is that these letters, in addition to this blog and the media releases that I publish, will serve to increase awareness of Beauford and his art as well as encourage donations in support of our cause.
We are now just beneath the $3000 mark in our fund. Once again, my humble and sincere thanks to those of you who have contributed thus far. I am planning to recognize our donors by placing a list of their names in the right margin of the blog. I will ask each donor's permission to publicly acknowledge him or her prior to creating the list. Look for it to appear soon!
If you have not yet contributed, I vigorously encourage you to do so! We still need $5500 to reach our fundraising goal for 2010.
Sincerely,
Monique
President, Les Amis de Beauford Delaney
Richard A. Long and Beauford Delaney
Richard A. Long is Atticus Haygood Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Emeritus, at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a personal friend of Beauford, and contributed to the birthday tribute that was posted on this blog on 30 December 2009. Here, in his words, is the story of his relationship with Beauford:
I first became acquainted with the name and work of Beauford around 1947. He had been the featured artist in the annual Pyramid Club Show, an event organized by the artists Dox Thrash and Humbert Howard. I did not attend the show, but of the few paintings sold, two were bought by Philadelphian Dorothy Warrick. I saw them and heard about Beauford upon visiting the Warrick family home in Germantown that Dorothy shared with her sister Marie. The Warrick sisters were the nieces of the sculptor Meta Warrick Fuller, whom I later met at their home. Their collection included work by a number of Philadelphia artists—Allan Freelon, John Abele, Henry Jones, and particularly, Laura Wheeler Waring. The almost brutal expressionism of the Delaney paintings posed quite a contrast to the calm visual language of the Philadelphians and was the subject of much discussion. There were those who thought that Dorothy had gone too far, inflicting on the sober décor of Warrick antiques and porcelain a New York state of mind. Dorothy, who had always been an independent spirit, had felt vindicated by a visit from Alain Locke who approved her selection. Subsequent to her purchase, Dorothy had visited Beauford’s studio in Greenwich Village, a trip that she described to me on several occasions.
I heard about Beauford over the years and saw several of his paintings, but I did not meet him until I began a year’s residence in Paris in 1957. I had encountered the composer Howard Swanson, who told me that Beauford was living in the Paris suburb of Clamart and offered to take me there for a visit. On a typically dreamy Sunday afternoon we went to see Beauford for a visit that stretched into several hours. This enabled me to view the transformation that Beauford’s paintings had undergone since his arrival in Paris some years before.
During the subsequent year I saw Beauford often, usually in St. Germain-des-Pres. I spent another year in France beginning in the fall of 1964, during which I saw Beauford frequently at his studio in Rue Vercingétorix. I sat for portraits--one in pastel and one in oil-- off and on in 1964 and 1965 during my visits to Paris from Poitiers, where I was working on my dissertation. It was in 1965 that Beauford did the oil portrait of me, which is now on view at the High Museum.
This was realized in a large exhibition that I curated for the Studio Museum in Harlem in 1978, which was unfortunately too late for Beauford to have an awareness of what was happening.
I first became acquainted with the name and work of Beauford around 1947. He had been the featured artist in the annual Pyramid Club Show, an event organized by the artists Dox Thrash and Humbert Howard. I did not attend the show, but of the few paintings sold, two were bought by Philadelphian Dorothy Warrick. I saw them and heard about Beauford upon visiting the Warrick family home in Germantown that Dorothy shared with her sister Marie. The Warrick sisters were the nieces of the sculptor Meta Warrick Fuller, whom I later met at their home. Their collection included work by a number of Philadelphia artists—Allan Freelon, John Abele, Henry Jones, and particularly, Laura Wheeler Waring. The almost brutal expressionism of the Delaney paintings posed quite a contrast to the calm visual language of the Philadelphians and was the subject of much discussion. There were those who thought that Dorothy had gone too far, inflicting on the sober décor of Warrick antiques and porcelain a New York state of mind. Dorothy, who had always been an independent spirit, had felt vindicated by a visit from Alain Locke who approved her selection. Subsequent to her purchase, Dorothy had visited Beauford’s studio in Greenwich Village, a trip that she described to me on several occasions.
I heard about Beauford over the years and saw several of his paintings, but I did not meet him until I began a year’s residence in Paris in 1957. I had encountered the composer Howard Swanson, who told me that Beauford was living in the Paris suburb of Clamart and offered to take me there for a visit. On a typically dreamy Sunday afternoon we went to see Beauford for a visit that stretched into several hours. This enabled me to view the transformation that Beauford’s paintings had undergone since his arrival in Paris some years before.
During the subsequent year I saw Beauford often, usually in St. Germain-des-Pres. I spent another year in France beginning in the fall of 1964, during which I saw Beauford frequently at his studio in Rue Vercingétorix. I sat for portraits--one in pastel and one in oil-- off and on in 1964 and 1965 during my visits to Paris from Poitiers, where I was working on my dissertation. It was in 1965 that Beauford did the oil portrait of me, which is now on view at the High Museum.
Portrait of Richard A. Long
Oil on canvas (1965)
High Museum of Art
Beginning in 1966, I spent most of my summers in Paris for several years. Most of my visits to Beauford were at his studio, though from time to time we sat in various cafes, including the Flore. On one or two occasions we visited museums together, notably the fairly new Monet installation at the Marmottan. We often discussed many aspects of American life and culture, as well as my idea for the organization of a major exhibition of his work.
Cafe de Flore
© Discover Paris!
I made a gift of the Beauford portrait to the High Museum in 2001. The director decided to organize a Beauford Delaney show featuring the painting, and he called upon a former student of mine, Richard J. Powell of Duke University, to curate it. Hence, “Beauford Delaney: The Color Yellow” came into being. The catalog included a poem I had dedicated to Beauford and which was the title poem of my volume, Ascending and Other Poems.
The Color Yellow - Catalog Cover
© Roberta Boyea "Basement Book Store"
26 March 2010
Beauford died 31 years ago today. His funeral was held at the American Church on April 6, 1979, and his body was laid to rest in an unmarked grave in Division 86 at Thiais Cemetery, just south of Paris.
For those who are visiting the blog for the first time, note that the primary mission of Les Amis de Beauford Delaney is to place a permanent market at Beauford’s grave. As president of Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, I heartily thank everyone who has contributed to the $2825 that we have in the gravesite fund thus far!
We have not raised the entire amount of money required to proceed with the creation and installation of his tombstone by as of yet, but we remain confident that we can do so. We need an additional $5675 to reach our target of $8500.
We are making good progress with our goals of commemorating Beauford and informing the press and the media of his life and accomplishments. As indicated in the posting of 16 February, I presented “Beauford Delaney: From Paris to Beyond” at the U.S. Embassy Black History Month Festival and at Patricia Laplante Collins’ Paris Soirées during the month of February. Articles about Beauford have been published on the American Center France Web site (in English and French), in the Artist Features section of the online Collector Magazine published by the George R. N’Namdi Gallery, and in the South Florida Times newspaper. Beauford’s hometown newspaper, the Knoxville News Sentinel, published a notice informing the citizens of Knoxville that our organization exists and that we are accepting donations for the gravesite project. More Web publications are to come within the next several weeks.
Our biggest news to date is that we have received a wonderful letter of support from the Honorable Charles H. Rivkin, U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco! I will provide details about the letter in a future posting.
I look forward to bringing you more postings about Beauford, and to including as much information as possible from people who knew him personally. Please forward our URL to anyone who you believe would be interested in learning about him by following the blog and / or anyone who would be willing to contribute to our cause.
Thanks for your support!
Monique Y. Wells
President, Les Amis de Beauford Delaney
American Church in Paris
© Discover Paris!
For those who are visiting the blog for the first time, note that the primary mission of Les Amis de Beauford Delaney is to place a permanent market at Beauford’s grave. As president of Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, I heartily thank everyone who has contributed to the $2825 that we have in the gravesite fund thus far!
We have not raised the entire amount of money required to proceed with the creation and installation of his tombstone by as of yet, but we remain confident that we can do so. We need an additional $5675 to reach our target of $8500.
Division 86 at Thiais Cemetery
© Discover Paris!
We are making good progress with our goals of commemorating Beauford and informing the press and the media of his life and accomplishments. As indicated in the posting of 16 February, I presented “Beauford Delaney: From Paris to Beyond” at the U.S. Embassy Black History Month Festival and at Patricia Laplante Collins’ Paris Soirées during the month of February. Articles about Beauford have been published on the American Center France Web site (in English and French), in the Artist Features section of the online Collector Magazine published by the George R. N’Namdi Gallery, and in the South Florida Times newspaper. Beauford’s hometown newspaper, the Knoxville News Sentinel, published a notice informing the citizens of Knoxville that our organization exists and that we are accepting donations for the gravesite project. More Web publications are to come within the next several weeks.
Our biggest news to date is that we have received a wonderful letter of support from the Honorable Charles H. Rivkin, U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco! I will provide details about the letter in a future posting.
I look forward to bringing you more postings about Beauford, and to including as much information as possible from people who knew him personally. Please forward our URL to anyone who you believe would be interested in learning about him by following the blog and / or anyone who would be willing to contribute to our cause.
Thanks for your support!
Monique Y. Wells
President, Les Amis de Beauford Delaney
Burt and Pat Reinfrank Remember Beauford
Burt Reinfrank was one of Beauford’s friends from the Paris years. Burt was a member of the panel of the trustees that was accorded responsibility for Beauford’s affairs when he was institutionalized at Sainte-Anne’s Hospital during the final years of his life. I was privileged to interview Burt and Pat recently, and thrilled to learn much about Beauford and his work that has never found its way into print. I share some of their anecdotes below.
Burt and Pat Reinfrank next to an original Beauford Delaney
© 2010 Discover Paris!
Because the building in which Beauford lived on rue Vercingétorix no longer exists, and because there are very few descriptions of the exterior of the building, I was pleased when Burt described how he approached Beauford’s studio – through a courtyard and up stairs to a landing with two doors. Beauford’s home was behind the door on the left. Everything inside was covered with white sheets, except the walls, which were covered with paintings. Most of these works were portraits, while the abstract paintings were stored away. Burt said that Beauford invited him to sit in the chair and offered him coffee or tea. That chair was the one where Beauford had subjects sit for portraits (and Burt would eventually pose for a portrait there). Burt said that the apartment windows looked out over a schoolyard, and that voices of young children would fill the apartment at recess times.
Burt is a collector of Beauford’s art, and he had several stories to tell about various pieces that he has obtained, or tried to obtain. One such story pertains to a painting that he saw at Beauford’s studio during a visit there. Burt and Beauford became friends because of Burt’s interest in abstract art. Yet during a visit to Beauford’s studio one day, he saw one of Beauford’s figurative paintings from the New York years. He was quite impressed with it, and over the course of a few days, made up his mind that he wanted to purchase it. When he returned to the studio the following week, he did not see the painting anywhere, and asked Beauford where it was. Beauford told him that he had painted over it, and that the new painting was an abstract work.
Another story relates to a painting that Beauford gave to one of his best friends in Paris, Charlie Boggs – an American painter from Kentucky, who lived very near Beauford with his wife Gita and son Gordon. Burt invited Beauford to celebrate Christmas with him, and offered to pick him up in Montparnasse and take him to the Reinfrank home in Boulogne. Beauford asked Burt to pick him up at the Boggses instead. When Burt entered the apartment, he saw an abstract Delaney painting hanging over the sofa. Charlie helped Beauford to reproduce it as a seriograph, and a few years later, Burt received one of these seriographs as a gift from Beauford. Burt immediately remembered that he had seen the original painting at the Boggses and asked Charlie what became of it. Charlie could not remember, and the whereabouts of the painting have never been discovered.
Some of the Reinfrank collection comes from the paintings that were owned by Ahmed Bioud (link to Rosenfeld Gallery portrait), who Burt considers to have been one of Beauford’s closest friends in Paris. (He does not count James Baldwin and Bernard Hassell as Beauford’s friends, but rather as his family.) Bioud was a professor who worked at the Bibliothèque Nationale, and who would become a great supporter of Beauford by collecting his works and looking after him during Beauford’s bouts of mental and physical illness. The Bioud family would often invite Beauford to stay at their country home and to travel with them. Burt believes that Beauford painted one of the gouache works that he owns today (shown below) at the Bioud summer home.
Untitled, Beauford Delaney
Gouache on paper (1969)
Courtesy of Burt and Pat Reinfrank
Photo © 2010 Discover Paris!
Another painting owned by the Reinfranks (shown below) was originally a gift from Beauford to Charlie Boggs. Boggs sold the painting to Ahmed Bioud for the sum of 3000 FF ($600 at the exchange rate of the day). When Bioud died, his collection was divided among his daughters. Burt and Pat purchased it from a member of the Bioud family.
Untitled, Undated, Signed Beauford Delaney
Oil on canvas
Courtesy of Burt and Pat Reinfrank
Photo © 2010 Discover Paris!
Burt had other stories about Beauford’s paintings, such as a work that Beauford created in the style of the slash series of Italian painter Lucio Fontana, and another called Soul Brother that hung in Haynes’ Restaurant in Paris’ 9th arrondissement, for which an illegal copy was placed on the market for a time. But more importantly, he had a lot to say about Beauford’s persona – that shimmering, transcendental quality that made Beauford irresistible to anyone who knew him. He said that whenever he talked with Beauford, he regretted not having a recorder with him because he feared that he would forget the ideas and the philosophy behind what Beauford said. He thought deeply before putting into words what he considers to be the essence of Beauford:
Burt believes that art is an expression of an “inner something” that is present in us all. He says that the question is, are we interested in connecting with that “something,” or are we content to let it lie dormant within us. He says that Beauford was connected with that “something,” which Beauford often spoke of as “the cosmos.” Further, he believes that Beauford had a grasp of the human condition that he (Burt) has never found in any other soul. Words such as “saintly” and “beatific” (used by Pat) only begin to describe Beauford; to think of him in any context other than that of the far-reaching historic, artistic, and civilizing aspects of our culture from ancient times to today is to miss the point.
To sum things up, Burt indicates that Beauford was “something else.”
Cid Corman’s Poetic Tribute to Beauford
Cid Corman (1924-2004) was a prolific poet, and founder of the journal Origin and Origin Press. He began improvising poetry in 1954 on his first trip to France as a Fulbright scholar, and is now considered by many to be the father of oral poetry. In a 2003 interview, he stated that “oral poetry is so completely different from written work that you can't write it down on the page. And it's not a performance - it's speaking to somebody from heart to heart, from the deepest part of my being to the deepest part of someone else's. So what I write now is very close to that work. This is always my orientation, poetry that comes out of speaking language, not writing language.”
Corman met Beauford in Paris in October 1954. They became friends, and Corman wrote a number of poems about Beauford at this time. The two continued to correspond when Corman moved to Japan in 1958.
Corman would meet French gallery owner and publisher Philippe Briet in Japan. In 1995, these men, along with American curator and publisher Richard Milazzo, created a book of poetry dedicated to Beauford. Entitled Tributary (Edgewise Press, 1999); it contains fifty poems and five color reproductions* of Beauford’s paintings. Many of these poems are untitled – all of them are powerful. Corman wrote most of them in 1995.
*The paintings that are reproduced in Tributary are The Burning Bush (1941), Self-Portrait (1944), Chartres (1954), Untitled (c. 1961), and Yellow Cypress (c. 1972).
Corman’s dedication of Tributary to Beauford reads as follows:
What appeals to me most in the book are the poems that mention “the eye,” the organ that allows us to view the world, and that allowed Beauford to create such extraordinary works. In one untitled poem, Corman writes “So much in the eye – color weaving sky and river – bird and butterfly…the brush drawing every thing into the paint.” The poem “All” invokes “The sculpture of yellow investing a space engaging an eye”.
In looking at his numerous self-portraits, one can see that Beauford frequently painted his eyes asymmetrically and with different colors. His friend Burt Reinfrank told me that he wondered if this was Beauford’s way of portraying one eye looking outward toward the world and the other looking inward toward himself.
Corman met Beauford in Paris in October 1954. They became friends, and Corman wrote a number of poems about Beauford at this time. The two continued to correspond when Corman moved to Japan in 1958.
Corman would meet French gallery owner and publisher Philippe Briet in Japan. In 1995, these men, along with American curator and publisher Richard Milazzo, created a book of poetry dedicated to Beauford. Entitled Tributary (Edgewise Press, 1999); it contains fifty poems and five color reproductions* of Beauford’s paintings. Many of these poems are untitled – all of them are powerful. Corman wrote most of them in 1995.
Photo of cover of Tributary
Courtesy of Sylvain Briet
*The paintings that are reproduced in Tributary are The Burning Bush (1941), Self-Portrait (1944), Chartres (1954), Untitled (c. 1961), and Yellow Cypress (c. 1972).
Corman’s dedication of Tributary to Beauford reads as follows:
ForMany of the Tributary poems refer to color – in “Pastel”, Corman writes of “the vibrant soft reds through the blues to let Jimmy see to through”; and in “Abstract Exact,” he talks of “working the yellow, yellow, yellow out of the green green and red.” Others are poetic references to specific Delaney paintings, such as Beauford’s Greene Street, Chartres, and Still Life with Pears. (“Pastel” may be a reference to Beauford’s portrait of James Baldwin entitled The Sage Black, though this painting was done using oils.) Still others refer to Paris, or more specifically, to Montparnasse.
Beauford
these poems respond to the life of a
friend whose art was that of a life
given to life instinctively with all
the resources given him
they are meant to feed back some of the spiritual
and spirited heartbeat of his color
What appeals to me most in the book are the poems that mention “the eye,” the organ that allows us to view the world, and that allowed Beauford to create such extraordinary works. In one untitled poem, Corman writes “So much in the eye – color weaving sky and river – bird and butterfly…the brush drawing every thing into the paint.” The poem “All” invokes “The sculpture of yellow investing a space engaging an eye”.
In looking at his numerous self-portraits, one can see that Beauford frequently painted his eyes asymmetrically and with different colors. His friend Burt Reinfrank told me that he wondered if this was Beauford’s way of portraying one eye looking outward toward the world and the other looking inward toward himself.
Beauford Delaney
Self-portrait
Oil on canvas (1944)
Art Institute of Chicago
Corman seemed to have had a similar sense of Beauford’s unique vision. He expressed it in this Tributary poem:
The archetypal
immediate and
eternal black man
shaman artist all
eye and holding light
to its presence en-
cushioned and enthroned.
Beauford's Makonde Figure at the Armory Show Modern in NYC
The Michael Rosenfeld Gallery is exhibiting Beauford's Makonde Figure, a signed and dated painting of an African sculpture, among numerous other works at the Armory Show Modern in Manhattan. Dates and times are as follows:
Thursday, March 4 - Noon to 8 PM
Friday, March 5 - Noon to 8 PM
Saturday, March 6 - Noon to 8 PM
Sunday, March 7 - Noon to 7 PM
The Armory Show Modern is being held at Twelvth Avenue and Fifty-fifth Street, NYC. The Michael Rosenfeld Gallery will be at Booth #237 - Pier 92. For more information, phone the gallery at 212-247-0082, or send e-mail to website (at) michaelrosenfeldart (dot) com.
Thursday, March 4 - Noon to 8 PM
Friday, March 5 - Noon to 8 PM
Saturday, March 6 - Noon to 8 PM
Sunday, March 7 - Noon to 7 PM
The Armory Show Modern is being held at Twelvth Avenue and Fifty-fifth Street, NYC. The Michael Rosenfeld Gallery will be at Booth #237 - Pier 92. For more information, phone the gallery at 212-247-0082, or send e-mail to website (at) michaelrosenfeldart (dot) com.
Beauford and the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery
The Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, located at 24 West 57 Street, opened its doors in Manhattan in 1989. It acquired its first Beauford Delaney painting – an untitled portrait – soon afterward, and has been a champion of Beauford’s work ever since. To date, the gallery has mounted twenty-five expositions that have included paintings by Beauford, including two solo expositions of selected abstract works.
Michael Rosenfeld’s wife and partner, halley k harrisburg, is the director of the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery. She kindly consented to grant me an interview to provide insight into why the gallery is such a fervent supporter of Beauford’s œuvre.
The story begins with the adolescent Michael Rosenfeld, a precocious youth with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of art history and artists. He would spend hours roaming the city to look at and buy art objects, and developed relationships with vendors and galleries around town – including many on Madison Avenue. He poured over old ads and archives of artistic works in libraries and museums, noted the names of artists whose work interested him, and sought these artists out. When they consented to meet with him, they were invariably surprised to find that a teenager presented himself for the rendezvous. Michael would put himself through college by buying and selling art.
Many of the paintings that Michael Rosenfeld acquired during his youth were created by African-American artists. He often did not know this at the time that he obtained the works – it was only later that he became aware of the “African-American artist” and the struggles that faced such artists in the American art world, and began to recognize the names of particular artists in this light.
Michael and halley visited the Paul Facchetti Gallery in Paris during the mid-1990s. Facchetti was a major supporter of Beauford during his Paris years and held several of his works, and Michael and halley purchased several of Beauford’s paintings from Facchetti during that trip. These became the nexus of the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery Delaney collection. Michael and halley also established relationships with Darthea Speyer and others in Paris who supported Beauford and his art. Since that time, they have actively sought to acquire authentic Delaney paintings (halley indicated that there are numerous counterfeit works on the market today), with the intent to sell them to museums as well as to private collectors. They are also eager to make Beauford’s work available to museums for exhibitions.
_MRosenfeldGallery.jpg)
In 1995, the gallery held its first solo exposition of Beauford’s paintings. It was entitled Beauford Delaney: 1960s Paris Abstractions, and it ran from September 14 - November 11. At the time, the scant press that Beauford’s work had received concerned his figurative paintings, such as those shown at the Studio Museum in Harlem in 1978. In this context, to mount a solo exposition exclusively composed of abstract works could be considered audacious. halley indicated that this exposition was very poorly attended, and stated her conviction that this was because the public could not comprehend the significance of abstract art produced by an “African-American artist.”
MRosenfeld+Gallery.jpg)
halley stated that the gallery feels privileged to have handled so many of Beauford’s paintings. When asked what makes his work desirable for the gallery, her passion for it burst forth as she spoke of Beauford’s electric palette, and the raw emotion, sheer integrity, and consistency of intent of his œuvre. She stated that Beauford’s approach to portraits, landscapes, his representations of Washington Square, and his abstractions are quintessentially his own; and that each work of art that he produced was an external representation of all the opportunities, hardships, and relationships that he had experienced in life up to the moment that he set his brush to canvas. She and Michael believe that Beauford is one of the most important of all 20th-century American painters.
The Michael Rosenfeld Gallery is a supporter of the mission of Les Amis de Beauford Delaney to place a permanent marker at Beauford’s grave at Thiais Cemetery. Please join them in supporting our effort! Send your donation check, made payable to Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, to us at one of the following addresses:
US Dollar donations:
Monique Y. Wells
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney
11503 Sandhurst
Houston, TX 77048
USA
Euro donations:
Monique Y. Wells
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney
52, rue Lhomond
75005 Paris
FRANCE
Michael Rosenfeld’s wife and partner, halley k harrisburg, is the director of the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery. She kindly consented to grant me an interview to provide insight into why the gallery is such a fervent supporter of Beauford’s œuvre.
The story begins with the adolescent Michael Rosenfeld, a precocious youth with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of art history and artists. He would spend hours roaming the city to look at and buy art objects, and developed relationships with vendors and galleries around town – including many on Madison Avenue. He poured over old ads and archives of artistic works in libraries and museums, noted the names of artists whose work interested him, and sought these artists out. When they consented to meet with him, they were invariably surprised to find that a teenager presented himself for the rendezvous. Michael would put himself through college by buying and selling art.
Many of the paintings that Michael Rosenfeld acquired during his youth were created by African-American artists. He often did not know this at the time that he obtained the works – it was only later that he became aware of the “African-American artist” and the struggles that faced such artists in the American art world, and began to recognize the names of particular artists in this light.
Beauford Delaney (1901-1979)
Ahmed Bioud, 1964
oil on canvas
39 1/4" x 32", signed
© Estate of Beauford Delaney; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York , NY
Michael and halley visited the Paul Facchetti Gallery in Paris during the mid-1990s. Facchetti was a major supporter of Beauford during his Paris years and held several of his works, and Michael and halley purchased several of Beauford’s paintings from Facchetti during that trip. These became the nexus of the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery Delaney collection. Michael and halley also established relationships with Darthea Speyer and others in Paris who supported Beauford and his art. Since that time, they have actively sought to acquire authentic Delaney paintings (halley indicated that there are numerous counterfeit works on the market today), with the intent to sell them to museums as well as to private collectors. They are also eager to make Beauford’s work available to museums for exhibitions.
_MRosenfeldGallery.jpg)
Beauford Delaney (1901-1979)
Exchange Place, 1943
oil on panel
33 1/4" x 45 1/2", signed
© Estate of Beauford Delaney; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York , NY
In 1995, the gallery held its first solo exposition of Beauford’s paintings. It was entitled Beauford Delaney: 1960s Paris Abstractions, and it ran from September 14 - November 11. At the time, the scant press that Beauford’s work had received concerned his figurative paintings, such as those shown at the Studio Museum in Harlem in 1978. In this context, to mount a solo exposition exclusively composed of abstract works could be considered audacious. halley indicated that this exposition was very poorly attended, and stated her conviction that this was because the public could not comprehend the significance of abstract art produced by an “African-American artist.”
MRosenfeld+Gallery.jpg)
Beauford Delaney (1901-1979)
Untitled, 1960
oil on canvas
51" x 38", signed
© Estate of Beauford Delaney; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York , NY
halley stated that the gallery feels privileged to have handled so many of Beauford’s paintings. When asked what makes his work desirable for the gallery, her passion for it burst forth as she spoke of Beauford’s electric palette, and the raw emotion, sheer integrity, and consistency of intent of his œuvre. She stated that Beauford’s approach to portraits, landscapes, his representations of Washington Square, and his abstractions are quintessentially his own; and that each work of art that he produced was an external representation of all the opportunities, hardships, and relationships that he had experienced in life up to the moment that he set his brush to canvas. She and Michael believe that Beauford is one of the most important of all 20th-century American painters.
Beauford Delaney in his Vercingetonix Studio, c.1967
© Estate of Beauford Delaney; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York , NY
The Michael Rosenfeld Gallery is a supporter of the mission of Les Amis de Beauford Delaney to place a permanent marker at Beauford’s grave at Thiais Cemetery. Please join them in supporting our effort! Send your donation check, made payable to Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, to us at one of the following addresses:
US Dollar donations:
Monique Y. Wells
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney
11503 Sandhurst
Houston, TX 77048
USA
Euro donations:
Monique Y. Wells
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney
52, rue Lhomond
75005 Paris
FRANCE
Beauford: Black Man and Painter
When Beauford’s friends and I were deciding upon the inscription for his tombstone, a suggestion was made to refer to him as an African-American painter. This idea was quickly rejected, however, when one of our group reminded us that Beauford did not wish to be remembered as black painter (or even as an American painter) because it placed him in a subcategory.
The following excerpt from a letter written by painter Charley Boggs, one of Beauford’s closest friends, corroborates this:
Boggs says that “Beauford is, of course, race-conscious.” We can see this in Beauford’s art. He not only depicted blacks in his figurative work and his portraiture, but also drew upon the rich culture of African statuary to create numerous vibrant paintings. Yet he did not limit himself to portraying black people or Afro-centric themes in his work because his art was a reflection of his life. Beauford’s œuvre speaks for itself.
The following excerpt from a letter written by painter Charley Boggs, one of Beauford’s closest friends, corroborates this:
"I have just talked with Madame du Closel on the phone. Here are some considerations which she and I feel are important: B(eauford) has spoken to us both about the idea of "representing his race" as a painter. B wants to be known as a painter, not as a Negro painter. I realize that this is a touchy subject but I hope you will understand. Beauford is, of course, race-conscious. How can he help it? But he is not, nor has ever been a spokesman for his race. He may protest privately but has no desire to protest publicly. There is a difference. In any event, as painter, he prefers to remain anonymous when it comes to his color."The letter is dated Monday, November 5, 1962. Sylvain Briet (brother of Philippe Briet of the now defunct Philippe Briet Gallery in New York) found it among the Beauford Delaney papers of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and graciously shared this excerpt with me. It is written to Lynn Stone regarding a proposal for a Beauford Delaney exhibition in New York in the fall of 1963. Madame du Closel was a close personal friend of Beauford who helped him a great deal during his bouts with mental illness.
Boggs says that “Beauford is, of course, race-conscious.” We can see this in Beauford’s art. He not only depicted blacks in his figurative work and his portraiture, but also drew upon the rich culture of African statuary to create numerous vibrant paintings. Yet he did not limit himself to portraying black people or Afro-centric themes in his work because his art was a reflection of his life. Beauford’s œuvre speaks for itself.
Beauford Delaney
Untitled
Oil on masonite (c. 1945)
Collection Brattle Associates
Art for invitation card for the 1994 Philippe Briet retrospective entitled
Beauford Delaney: The New York Years
Courtesy of Sylvain Briet
It is natural, even pathological, for us Americans to classify ourselves first and foremost according to our race. Though I believe that we would be better off rejecting this unfortunate, deeply ingrained tradition, I also believe that it is virtually impossible. Yet I understand and empathize with Beauford’s viewpoint, and intend to honor it. Therefore, though I may refer to Beauford the man as an African American or as a black man, I will never refer to him as a black painter or an African-American painter in this blog. I will also never personally refer to his work as African-American art.
The inscription on his tombstone will simply refer to him as “Peintre / Painter.”