The "Beauford Delaney in America" Initiative
This post was contributed by Sylvia L. Peters, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee and a former member of the Board of Trustees at the Knoxville Museum of Art.
Thursdays in Knoxville are often the unofficial beginning of weekends. People are trying to decide whether to meet friends, attend cultural events, or have fun outdoors in the scenic mountains surrounding the city. In May 2016, an invitation went out from the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) and the Beck Cultural Center (BCC) to a diverse cross-section of citizens to attend a Thursday evening presentation on bringing the recent Paris exhibition, Resonance de Formes et Vibration de Couleur (Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color), to Knoxville.
Rev. Reneé Kesler, a dynamic leader in the African-American community and a great organizer who knows how to get people together, suggested that the meeting be held in the neighborhood where the Delaney family resided at the beginning of the twentieth century. Dr. David Butler, KMA Director; Stephen Wicks, KMA Curator; and the steering committee for the new Beauford Delaney Initiative in America (BDIA) agreed that the Beck Cultural Center was a good place to begin a community-driven effort to bring the Paris works of one of America’s great artists home to his birthplace – Knoxville, Tennessee.
Beck Cultural Exchange Center
Photo courtesy of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center
So, on a stormy Thursday evening in early June, 200 people gathered to hear about how they could become involved in the BDIA initiative, which is a partnership between KMA, the Beck Cultural Center, and others. The room crackled with energy and earnest curiosity as Stephen Wicks spoke of his twenty-year journey to bring Beauford’s important work to the attention of people in America and particularly, the citizens of Knoxville.
David Butler talked passionately about the small group of museum members who went to see the Paris exhibition in February and how they were so moved by the experience that they committed their time and funds to begin the effort.
Sylvia Peters, former trustee of the Knoxville Museum of Art,
"Blipps" a painting at the exhibition opening
Photo by Sophia Pagan Photography
Left to right: Stephen Wicks, curator for
the Knoxville Museum of Art;
Wokie Wicks, Monique Y. Wells at exhibition opening
Photo by Sophia Pagan Photography
Knoxville Museum of Art group on the Beauford Delaney
Commemorative Walking Tour in Paris
© Discover Paris!
Finally, Rev. Kesler spoke eloquently about BCC’s institutional commitment to one of the Delaney family homes that is adjacent to BCC’s property in East Knoxville. BCC recently purchased the old house through funds acquired from the Knoxville City government and is planning to turn the property into a space to serve people in the mostly African-American community in the area.
Such a diverse gathering is quite unusual for Knoxville. Since the June meeting, many of the attendees have talked about how positive it felt to be invited to participate in this effort. Everyone who attended left with the feeling that they wanted to be a part of this important initiative – it will take at least a year to plan, organize and raise the funds to bring the exhibit to Knoxville.
Knoxville Museum of Art at Twilight
Photo courtesy of the Knoxville Museum of Art
This meeting reminds us of the power of the arts to engage people in great community initiatives and inspire them to achieve seemingly impossible tasks. Beauford, who suffered so much throughout his life for the sake of his art, must be proud of his hometown and grateful to Monique Wells, president of the French non-profit organization Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, for doing so much to share his art with the world.
Beauford Delaney
1953 - Photo by Carl Van Vechten
The work of planning the project has begun. We’ll keep you informed of our progress.
Thursdays in Knoxville are often the unofficial beginning of weekends. People are trying to decide whether to meet friends, attend cultural events, or have fun outdoors in the scenic mountains surrounding the city. In May 2016, an invitation went out from the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) and the Beck Cultural Center (BCC) to a diverse cross-section of citizens to attend a Thursday evening presentation on bringing the recent Paris exhibition, Resonance de Formes et Vibration de Couleur (Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color), to Knoxville.
Rev. Reneé Kesler, a dynamic leader in the African-American community and a great organizer who knows how to get people together, suggested that the meeting be held in the neighborhood where the Delaney family resided at the beginning of the twentieth century. Dr. David Butler, KMA Director; Stephen Wicks, KMA Curator; and the steering committee for the new Beauford Delaney Initiative in America (BDIA) agreed that the Beck Cultural Center was a good place to begin a community-driven effort to bring the Paris works of one of America’s great artists home to his birthplace – Knoxville, Tennessee.
Photo courtesy of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center
So, on a stormy Thursday evening in early June, 200 people gathered to hear about how they could become involved in the BDIA initiative, which is a partnership between KMA, the Beck Cultural Center, and others. The room crackled with energy and earnest curiosity as Stephen Wicks spoke of his twenty-year journey to bring Beauford’s important work to the attention of people in America and particularly, the citizens of Knoxville.
David Butler talked passionately about the small group of museum members who went to see the Paris exhibition in February and how they were so moved by the experience that they committed their time and funds to begin the effort.
"Blipps" a painting at the exhibition opening
Photo by Sophia Pagan Photography
the Knoxville Museum of Art;
Wokie Wicks, Monique Y. Wells at exhibition opening
Photo by Sophia Pagan Photography
Commemorative Walking Tour in Paris
© Discover Paris!
Finally, Rev. Kesler spoke eloquently about BCC’s institutional commitment to one of the Delaney family homes that is adjacent to BCC’s property in East Knoxville. BCC recently purchased the old house through funds acquired from the Knoxville City government and is planning to turn the property into a space to serve people in the mostly African-American community in the area.
Such a diverse gathering is quite unusual for Knoxville. Since the June meeting, many of the attendees have talked about how positive it felt to be invited to participate in this effort. Everyone who attended left with the feeling that they wanted to be a part of this important initiative – it will take at least a year to plan, organize and raise the funds to bring the exhibit to Knoxville.
Photo courtesy of the Knoxville Museum of Art
This meeting reminds us of the power of the arts to engage people in great community initiatives and inspire them to achieve seemingly impossible tasks. Beauford, who suffered so much throughout his life for the sake of his art, must be proud of his hometown and grateful to Monique Wells, president of the French non-profit organization Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, for doing so much to share his art with the world.
1953 - Photo by Carl Van Vechten
The work of planning the project has begun. We’ll keep you informed of our progress.
Jean-Loup Msika's Friendship with Beauford - Part 2
Painter/sculptor/architect Jean-Loup Msika met Beauford for the first time at La Coupole. It was during the late 1960s, when Msika was working as an assistant for Hungarian-born sculptor/painter Anton Prinner (née Anna Prinner).
After a day's work, Msika and Prinner would make their way from Prinner's studio on rue Pernety to the famous Montparnasse café to have a drink. Prinner had a regular table at the entrance and ate a hamburger every evening while "holding court" with several artists. Beauford would sometimes attend these gatherings.
Msika remembers La Coupole as being a place where you were expected to dine and that it was fairly costly. For that reason, he would often go to the Select for a drink. He said he frequently saw Beauford at the Select.
Having often heard people say that Beauford's paintings were marvelous, Msika and another painter friend, Loulou Taÿeb, were thrilled when Beauford invited them to visit his studio on rue Vercingétorix. They happily accepted his invitation.
Msika remembers that Beauford's studio was located up several flights of stairs (he believes there were four of them) and that everything inside was covered with white cloth. He said Beauford painted in the main room of the studio and described the studio as being full of light:
He and Taÿeb were amazed by Beauford's work, particularly the portrait of Marian Anderson and other portraits of his friends.
Subsequently, Msika and Beauford would cross paths on the streets of Montparnasse in the evenings. He said Beauford was often on his way to meet friends and he felt that Beauford was lonely at his studio.
Beauford at his rue Vercingétorix studio
Screenshot from Henry Miller vu par ses amis
At this time, Msika, his wife, Albine (who is also a sculptor and painter), and their daughter lived on rue de la Bidassoa in the 20th arrondissement. Beauford visited them there and they would read poetry together and cook pasta "al' dente." Msika didn't believe that Beauford ate very well at home - he remembers seeing Beauford consuming only bananas, apples, chocolate, bread, and milk at his studio. He said Beauford was always grateful when he was invited out to dinner.
During one visit to the rue Vercingétorix studio, Msika remembers seeing a stack of 78 rpm records made by Henry Miller. Miller had offered them to Beauford - Msika described them as being "marvelous recordings of Miller's voice, reading his own writings, poems, stories, etc..."
Beauford told Msika that he had never heard the recordings before, so Msika purchased a phonograph for Beauford. He and Beauford listened to a few of the recordings together and Beauford was pleased. On his next visit to the studio, Msika observed that the phonograph had "disappeared under white linen."
In 1971, Beauford invited Msika to purchase a 25 F (25 figure) canvas so he could paint Msika's portrait. Msika purchased the canvas at an art supply store near or on rue Vercingétorix. He sat for the portrait twice at Beauford's studio and then let Beauford work on it for a while.
When it was completed, Msika found it to be a fine work and asked whether he could purchase it. Beauford agreed. Msika owns the portrait to this day.
Jean-Loup Msika and his portrait
Portrait: © Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image: © Discover Paris!
Portrait of Jean-Loup Msika (detail)
(1971) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Jean-Loup Msika
Msika explained that Beauford was a brilliant colorist and said that only a master could succeed in using a combination of acid greens, blues, and purples in a single work. He compared Beauford's genius to that of Matisse and Bonnard, and mentioned that Beauford loved the work of Bonnard.
Loulou Taÿeb was just as impressed with Beauford's work as Msika. He painted a portrait of Beauford for which he used a textured yellow background that Msika described as "Beauford's yellow." Msika says Taÿeb has depicted Beauford in front of one of Beauford's own paintings.
This portrait was part of an exhibition called Les Lumineux - the people who radiate light. It is one of two works that Msika purchased.
Loulou Taÿeb
Portrait of Beauford Delaney
(Undated) Oil on canvas
Portrait: © Loulou Taÿeb
Image: © Discover Paris!
Beauford gave Msika confidence as an artist, making him understand that there was more to art than technique. He told Msika that "art is difficult" but that if it comes from the heart, you can succeed. (See Jean-Loup Msika at work at a 1985 art installation here.)
I asked Msika about his best memories of Beauford. He replied that Beauford had a great sense of humor and would turn everything into a good laugh. He said Beauford had a "metaphysical laugh."
To sum it all up, he said that his favorite memories of Beauford are:
Jean-Loup Msika (second from left) and Loulou Taÿeb
(third from left) at
Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition
© Discover Paris!
After a day's work, Msika and Prinner would make their way from Prinner's studio on rue Pernety to the famous Montparnasse café to have a drink. Prinner had a regular table at the entrance and ate a hamburger every evening while "holding court" with several artists. Beauford would sometimes attend these gatherings.
Msika remembers La Coupole as being a place where you were expected to dine and that it was fairly costly. For that reason, he would often go to the Select for a drink. He said he frequently saw Beauford at the Select.
Having often heard people say that Beauford's paintings were marvelous, Msika and another painter friend, Loulou Taÿeb, were thrilled when Beauford invited them to visit his studio on rue Vercingétorix. They happily accepted his invitation.
Msika remembers that Beauford's studio was located up several flights of stairs (he believes there were four of them) and that everything inside was covered with white cloth. He said Beauford painted in the main room of the studio and described the studio as being full of light:
Beauford was about LIGHT. It was a spiritual thing about light being a symbol of purity and elevation - spiritual elevation.
He and Taÿeb were amazed by Beauford's work, particularly the portrait of Marian Anderson and other portraits of his friends.
Subsequently, Msika and Beauford would cross paths on the streets of Montparnasse in the evenings. He said Beauford was often on his way to meet friends and he felt that Beauford was lonely at his studio.
Screenshot from Henry Miller vu par ses amis
At this time, Msika, his wife, Albine (who is also a sculptor and painter), and their daughter lived on rue de la Bidassoa in the 20th arrondissement. Beauford visited them there and they would read poetry together and cook pasta "al' dente." Msika didn't believe that Beauford ate very well at home - he remembers seeing Beauford consuming only bananas, apples, chocolate, bread, and milk at his studio. He said Beauford was always grateful when he was invited out to dinner.
During one visit to the rue Vercingétorix studio, Msika remembers seeing a stack of 78 rpm records made by Henry Miller. Miller had offered them to Beauford - Msika described them as being "marvelous recordings of Miller's voice, reading his own writings, poems, stories, etc..."
Beauford told Msika that he had never heard the recordings before, so Msika purchased a phonograph for Beauford. He and Beauford listened to a few of the recordings together and Beauford was pleased. On his next visit to the studio, Msika observed that the phonograph had "disappeared under white linen."
In 1971, Beauford invited Msika to purchase a 25 F (25 figure) canvas so he could paint Msika's portrait. Msika purchased the canvas at an art supply store near or on rue Vercingétorix. He sat for the portrait twice at Beauford's studio and then let Beauford work on it for a while.
When it was completed, Msika found it to be a fine work and asked whether he could purchase it. Beauford agreed. Msika owns the portrait to this day.
Portrait: © Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image: © Discover Paris!
(1971) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Msika explained that Beauford was a brilliant colorist and said that only a master could succeed in using a combination of acid greens, blues, and purples in a single work. He compared Beauford's genius to that of Matisse and Bonnard, and mentioned that Beauford loved the work of Bonnard.
Loulou Taÿeb was just as impressed with Beauford's work as Msika. He painted a portrait of Beauford for which he used a textured yellow background that Msika described as "Beauford's yellow." Msika says Taÿeb has depicted Beauford in front of one of Beauford's own paintings.
This portrait was part of an exhibition called Les Lumineux - the people who radiate light. It is one of two works that Msika purchased.
Portrait of Beauford Delaney
Portrait: © Loulou Taÿeb
Image: © Discover Paris!
Beauford gave Msika confidence as an artist, making him understand that there was more to art than technique. He told Msika that "art is difficult" but that if it comes from the heart, you can succeed. (See Jean-Loup Msika at work at a 1985 art installation here.)
I asked Msika about his best memories of Beauford. He replied that Beauford had a great sense of humor and would turn everything into a good laugh. He said Beauford had a "metaphysical laugh."
To sum it all up, he said that his favorite memories of Beauford are:
- his studio
- his smile
- his marvelous paintings.
(third from left) at
Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition
© Discover Paris!
Jean-Loup Msika's Friendship with Beauford - Part 1
Jean-Loup Msika is a French artist and architect who was a friend of Beauford. We first met at the celebration of Beauford's life in Paris that was held during the Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition at Columbia Global Centers | Paris - Reid Hall on February 21, 2016. During that event, he spoke passionately about his relationship with Beauford and the interactions he had with close friends of Beauford at the time Beauford was permanently admitted to Sainte-Anne's Hospital.
Jean-Loup Msika at the celebration of Beauford's life in Paris
© Discover Paris!
Many in the audience were touched by his statements and I asked him whether he would grant me an interview to learn more about what he shared that day. Shortly thereafter, he invited me to his home at the Cité Fleurie - an artist's colony in the 13th arrondissement - and elaborated on the story that he told at Reid Hall.
Cité Fleurie
© Discover Paris!
Msika told me that in all the time he knew Beauford (they met in the late 1960s), he never saw Beauford in an "altered" mental state. He was surprised to learn that Beauford had such serious health problems and that he had been committed to Sainte-Anne's Hospital. He referred to a passage in Amazing Grace
, the biography of Beauford written by David Leeming, which describes him as a "drinking companion" of Beauford (the implication being that Beauford and Msika consumed alcohol together). The book states that, according to one story, a man named Barry Tompkins and Msika persuaded Beauford's doctor to release him into their care, and that according to another story, the two men managed to "sneak him out of the hospital on the floor of a taxi."
The account goes on to say that when Tompkins and Msika realized how sick Beauford really was, they took him to Hôpital Cochin and had him placed in the geriatrics ward.
Hôpital Cochin - main entrance
© Discover Paris!
Msika emphatically denied drinking alcohol with Beauford, saying the only thing they drank together was coffee. He recounted his remembrance of the situation described in Amazing Grace, saying that he and Tompkins asked Beauford's doctors at Sainte-Anne's to allow Beauford to visit them at Cité Fleurie and that the doctors agreed. He and Tompkins took Beauford directly to Msika's home, where they had lunch. Beauford asked for paper and pencil and immediately began sketching "figures, faces, ideas...".
This caused Msika to believe that getting Beauford back to his studio at rue Vercingétorix, where he could be amongst his things and resume painting, would be the most advantageous thing for Beauford's mental health:
He and Tompkins subsequently took Beauford to Hôpital Cochin to get a second opinion on Beauford's case and the hospital admitted him. When they returned the following day, they discovered that Hôpital Cochin had sent Beauford back to Sainte-Anne Hospital.
Msika said that after Beauford returned to Sainte-Anne's, he went to see Darthea Speyer to express his concerns. He says she dismissed him, saying that she "did not have to talk to him."
Beauford and Darthea Speyer at the American Cultural Center
Printed with permission from the U.S. Embassy in Paris
Msika recounted that he and James Baldwin met at Sainte-Anne Hospital at the time that the photograph below was taken.
Beauford and Baldwin, 1976
Photo by Max Petrus
He said he gave Baldwin his name and address and told him
He said that Baldwin's attitude toward him was one of arrogance.
Msika said that Baldwin and Bernard Hassell came to see him at Cité Fleurie and told him not to interfere with Beauford. They did not mention that Beauford's paintings had been moved from rue Vercingétorix to another Paris apartment and that Beauford could have gone there (Msika only learned this years later from reading the Leeming biography). Had they done so, Msika said he would have encouraged them to allow Beauford to go to the apartment to see his paintings and try to reestablish a connection with his life as an artist.
Msika felt that remaining in the hospital would be a death sentence for Beauford. To this day, he believes that Beauford "let himself die."
Msika also spoke about the "Committee to Save Beauford Delaney" that is described in Amazing Grace. The biography's account suggests that the members of this group of between 12-15 persons - mostly painters and sculptors - who met at Cité Fleurie were less than "genuinely and seriously concerned with Beauford's welfare." Msika said some of them knew Beauford and others became involved in the group after reading about Beauford's condition in the press. All of them believed that Beauford to deteriorate at Sainte-Anne's, that he would increasingly depressed and amnesic. They wanted to find a way to help Beauford reconnect to his art and his life in Montparnasse.
Amazing Grace book cover
Baldwin informed Msika and the others that he was legally responsible for Beauford and advised them not to implicate themselves in the situation. Msika responded that this was "not a question of legality, but a question of life."
What Msika wanted for Beauford was to have him moved to a retired artist's home where he could have a small studio, easels, etc. and continue to work. He felt that a nurse could have been hired to care for Beauford at that studio. He understood that hospitalization might have been necessary for crisis periods, but believed that Beauford should have been able to return to a home environment when those crises passed. He felt that Beauford was not given the chance to reconnect with his artist's life.
Msika said that award-winning actress Simone Signoret got involved in the affair on Baldwin's behalf, inviting Msika to her apartment to tell him that Baldwin was her friend and that Msika had no right to oppose Baldwin's actions in any way. Msika responded that he and the group had nothing against Baldwin - they were only concerned about Beauford and disagreed with what Baldwin was doing. Given Signoret's political leanings toward Stalin, he dismissed her admonition.
Simone Signoret accepting the 1960 Oscar for Best Actress in Room at the Top
Screenshot from YouTube video
During the course of our interview, Msika repeated many times that he believed what Baldwin was doing was illegal. He said that when someone is in the hospital, nobody can legally touch their home and their belongings and believed that:
He therefore discounted Baldwin's statements about being legally responsible for Beauford.
Msika said that Speyer, Baldwin, and Hassell's* attitude and unwillingness to communicate about Beauford led Msika and others to be suspicious of their motives. He thought they would be eager to inform persons who cared about Beauford of what they were planning, but instead, they rebuffed those concerned. This is what engendered all the subsequent events described above.
Msika noted that "a lot of evil in the world comes from a lack of communication." He feels that he was ungraciously portrayed in the Leeming biography as a result of bad faith.
*Darthea Speyer, James Baldwin, and Bernard Hassell were members of the tutelle that the French government formed to look after Beauford's affairs while he was at Sainte-Anne's Hospital.
© Discover Paris!
Many in the audience were touched by his statements and I asked him whether he would grant me an interview to learn more about what he shared that day. Shortly thereafter, he invited me to his home at the Cité Fleurie - an artist's colony in the 13th arrondissement - and elaborated on the story that he told at Reid Hall.
© Discover Paris!
Msika told me that in all the time he knew Beauford (they met in the late 1960s), he never saw Beauford in an "altered" mental state. He was surprised to learn that Beauford had such serious health problems and that he had been committed to Sainte-Anne's Hospital. He referred to a passage in Amazing Grace
, the biography of Beauford written by David Leeming, which describes him as a "drinking companion" of Beauford (the implication being that Beauford and Msika consumed alcohol together). The book states that, according to one story, a man named Barry Tompkins and Msika persuaded Beauford's doctor to release him into their care, and that according to another story, the two men managed to "sneak him out of the hospital on the floor of a taxi." The account goes on to say that when Tompkins and Msika realized how sick Beauford really was, they took him to Hôpital Cochin and had him placed in the geriatrics ward.
© Discover Paris!
Msika emphatically denied drinking alcohol with Beauford, saying the only thing they drank together was coffee. He recounted his remembrance of the situation described in Amazing Grace, saying that he and Tompkins asked Beauford's doctors at Sainte-Anne's to allow Beauford to visit them at Cité Fleurie and that the doctors agreed. He and Tompkins took Beauford directly to Msika's home, where they had lunch. Beauford asked for paper and pencil and immediately began sketching "figures, faces, ideas...".
This caused Msika to believe that getting Beauford back to his studio at rue Vercingétorix, where he could be amongst his things and resume painting, would be the most advantageous thing for Beauford's mental health:
He was still creative. That's why I thought that the best medicine would be for him to go back to his environment. Unfortunately, it was lost to him.
He and Tompkins subsequently took Beauford to Hôpital Cochin to get a second opinion on Beauford's case and the hospital admitted him. When they returned the following day, they discovered that Hôpital Cochin had sent Beauford back to Sainte-Anne Hospital.
Msika said that after Beauford returned to Sainte-Anne's, he went to see Darthea Speyer to express his concerns. He says she dismissed him, saying that she "did not have to talk to him."
Printed with permission from the U.S. Embassy in Paris
Msika recounted that he and James Baldwin met at Sainte-Anne Hospital at the time that the photograph below was taken.
Photo by Max Petrus
He said he gave Baldwin his name and address and told him
...everything about me. He [Baldwin] told me nothing about himself and what he was doing [with Beauford].
He said that Baldwin's attitude toward him was one of arrogance.
Msika said that Baldwin and Bernard Hassell came to see him at Cité Fleurie and told him not to interfere with Beauford. They did not mention that Beauford's paintings had been moved from rue Vercingétorix to another Paris apartment and that Beauford could have gone there (Msika only learned this years later from reading the Leeming biography). Had they done so, Msika said he would have encouraged them to allow Beauford to go to the apartment to see his paintings and try to reestablish a connection with his life as an artist.
Msika felt that remaining in the hospital would be a death sentence for Beauford. To this day, he believes that Beauford "let himself die."
Msika also spoke about the "Committee to Save Beauford Delaney" that is described in Amazing Grace. The biography's account suggests that the members of this group of between 12-15 persons - mostly painters and sculptors - who met at Cité Fleurie were less than "genuinely and seriously concerned with Beauford's welfare." Msika said some of them knew Beauford and others became involved in the group after reading about Beauford's condition in the press. All of them believed that Beauford to deteriorate at Sainte-Anne's, that he would increasingly depressed and amnesic. They wanted to find a way to help Beauford reconnect to his art and his life in Montparnasse.
Baldwin informed Msika and the others that he was legally responsible for Beauford and advised them not to implicate themselves in the situation. Msika responded that this was "not a question of legality, but a question of life."
What Msika wanted for Beauford was to have him moved to a retired artist's home where he could have a small studio, easels, etc. and continue to work. He felt that a nurse could have been hired to care for Beauford at that studio. He understood that hospitalization might have been necessary for crisis periods, but believed that Beauford should have been able to return to a home environment when those crises passed. He felt that Beauford was not given the chance to reconnect with his artist's life.
Msika said that award-winning actress Simone Signoret got involved in the affair on Baldwin's behalf, inviting Msika to her apartment to tell him that Baldwin was her friend and that Msika had no right to oppose Baldwin's actions in any way. Msika responded that he and the group had nothing against Baldwin - they were only concerned about Beauford and disagreed with what Baldwin was doing. Given Signoret's political leanings toward Stalin, he dismissed her admonition.
Screenshot from YouTube video
During the course of our interview, Msika repeated many times that he believed what Baldwin was doing was illegal. He said that when someone is in the hospital, nobody can legally touch their home and their belongings and believed that:
As long as there is a breath of life in this man [Beauford], he has to be able to go back home.
He therefore discounted Baldwin's statements about being legally responsible for Beauford.
Msika said that Speyer, Baldwin, and Hassell's* attitude and unwillingness to communicate about Beauford led Msika and others to be suspicious of their motives. He thought they would be eager to inform persons who cared about Beauford of what they were planning, but instead, they rebuffed those concerned. This is what engendered all the subsequent events described above.
Msika noted that "a lot of evil in the world comes from a lack of communication." He feels that he was ungraciously portrayed in the Leeming biography as a result of bad faith.
*Darthea Speyer, James Baldwin, and Bernard Hassell were members of the tutelle that the French government formed to look after Beauford's affairs while he was at Sainte-Anne's Hospital.
Presenting Beauford at Paris Lit Up
************
© Discover Paris!
Several months ago, co-host and editor Emily Ruck Keene extended an invitation to me to be a featured speaker for PLU's Open Mic night. She wanted me to share my knowledge of black history, culture and contemporary life in Paris with PLU's audience and invited to select any topic that suited my fancy. Because of the tremendous reception that my presentation received at the Links National Assembly in Las Vegas, I thought it only natural to talk about Beauford and the Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition.
We settled on July 14 (Bastille Day) as the date for my presentation.
The audience was delightfully eclectic that evening! Among those present were a software engineer, an art historian, and a "poet for hire."
I took the stage after watching several masterful recitations of poetry and prose, including a poem about Ferguson written by WIF intern and National Student Poet 2013-2014, Sojourner Ahébée. (Ahébée took a guided tour of Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color in February 2016 and requested to be considered for an internship as a result of what she saw and felt during that visit.)
© Discover Paris!
Part 1 of my talk focused on the story behind the founding of Les Amis de Beauford Delaney. The audience was captivated by the story of how I came to discover Beauford's gravesite and the work that Les Amis did to place a tombstone there. I explained how the non-profit's mission to organize educational and commemorative events in Beauford's honor and call the attention of the press to his artistic accomplishments led to the organization of the exhibition. I also spoke about study abroad and STEAM, both of which were important components of the exhibition.
© Discover Paris!
Part 2 of my talk focused on the Augmented Reality project. Because of PLU's focus on literary and performing arts, I decided to devote a good part of this section to the spoken word videos that rapper and spoken word artist Mike Ladd contributed to the University of Arizona Augmented Reality project.
© Discover Paris!
While I spoke, Keene downloaded the app to test it on several images in the exhibition catalog. She excitedly reported that she was able to access them all!
Following my presentation, more attendees took the stage to recite their poetry. Then, we left the cabaret and spilled into the street to watch the holiday fireworks display.
© Discover Paris!
We ended the evening at around midnight. Both the poetry recitals and the fireworks were truly inspiring!
Presenting Beauford at the Links National Assembly
On Friday, July 1, I had the honor and pleasure of presenting Beauford and the Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition at the Links National Assembly in Las Vegas.
During the fundraising campaign that took place prior to the exhibition, Rita Henderson, National Chairperson for the Arts facet of The Links Incorporated, organized the Links' contribution to the show. The organization's logo appears in the catalog in the section devoted to sponsors.
At that time, Chairperson Henderson approached me about speaking at a program workshop for the Links National Assembly. She said that the Delaney exhibition would be the perfect topic for the session that she was organizing with two other persons who were responsible for the program: Susan Coleman-Parks, Co-Director of the Arts facet, and Joan Prince, National Chair of the International Trends and Services facet. The name of the workshop would be "Make the Connection: International Trends and the Arts as a Global Force for Peace, Friendship, and Healing."
An excerpt from the description for the workshop read as follows:
Make the Connection workshop sign
© Wells International Foundation
Susan Coleman-Parks, Joan Prince, and Rita Henderson
© Wells International Foundation
During the workshop, I spoke for about 10 minutes, talking about Beauford and citing the founding of Les Amis de Beauford Delaney as the catalyst for organizing the Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition as the inaugural event for the Wells International Foundation.
Monique at the podium
© Wells International Foundation
I presented the highlights of the educational programming for the exhibition: the University of Arizona Augmented Reality project, the Global Educator Program, and the Blippar app, and invited attendees to come to my table after my talk to see the app in action.
Signs on table
© Wells International Foundation
The reception was overwhelmingly positive! A steady stream of attendees came over to the table to purchase catalogs and see the app in action. And six people gave me their names and contact information so we can communicate about exploring the possibility of bringing the exhibition to a museum in their city!
Monique and Link Stalfana Bello
© Wells International Foundation
I've already begun following up with these ladies and will share any positive news in future blog posts.
During the fundraising campaign that took place prior to the exhibition, Rita Henderson, National Chairperson for the Arts facet of The Links Incorporated, organized the Links' contribution to the show. The organization's logo appears in the catalog in the section devoted to sponsors.
At that time, Chairperson Henderson approached me about speaking at a program workshop for the Links National Assembly. She said that the Delaney exhibition would be the perfect topic for the session that she was organizing with two other persons who were responsible for the program: Susan Coleman-Parks, Co-Director of the Arts facet, and Joan Prince, National Chair of the International Trends and Services facet. The name of the workshop would be "Make the Connection: International Trends and the Arts as a Global Force for Peace, Friendship, and Healing."
An excerpt from the description for the workshop read as follows:
Experience how we leveraged our Linking with Jamaica initiative through a spotlight on chapter programming in Jamaican communities. Engage with the founder and CEO of a nonprofit, international arts foundation and learn how The Links, Incorporated joined forces to preserve the legacy of the late Beauford Delaney, a Paris expatriate who moved there in 1953 and died there in 1979.500 persons registered to attend.
© Wells International Foundation
© Wells International Foundation
During the workshop, I spoke for about 10 minutes, talking about Beauford and citing the founding of Les Amis de Beauford Delaney as the catalyst for organizing the Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition as the inaugural event for the Wells International Foundation.
© Wells International Foundation
I presented the highlights of the educational programming for the exhibition: the University of Arizona Augmented Reality project, the Global Educator Program, and the Blippar app, and invited attendees to come to my table after my talk to see the app in action.
© Wells International Foundation
The reception was overwhelmingly positive! A steady stream of attendees came over to the table to purchase catalogs and see the app in action. And six people gave me their names and contact information so we can communicate about exploring the possibility of bringing the exhibition to a museum in their city!
© Wells International Foundation
I've already begun following up with these ladies and will share any positive news in future blog posts.
Knoxville Museum of Art acquires two Beauford Delaney portraits
I am pleased to share the following release from the Knoxville Museum of Art:
The Knoxville Museum of Art announced its purchase two Beauford Delaney portraits from the artist’s estate: Portrait of Delia Delaney (1933), and Dante Pavone as Christ (1948). The purchase was made possible by financial assistance from the KMA’s Collectors Circle, a special membership group that helps support the development of the museum’s collection.
Portrait of Delia Delaney (1933) presents a bold and vibrant likeness of the artist’s mother, Delia (1865-1958), the stern matriarch of the family. The portrait was likely done during Beauford’s return trip to Knoxville in 1933. The portrait must have been an important keepsake, as the artist never sold it and used it as the basis for a larger oil portrait some 30 years later.
While Delaney describes her features with great attention to detail and conveys her strength, he transforms the background into an abstract study of luminous color.
The Knoxville Museum of Art announced its purchase two Beauford Delaney portraits from the artist’s estate: Portrait of Delia Delaney (1933), and Dante Pavone as Christ (1948). The purchase was made possible by financial assistance from the KMA’s Collectors Circle, a special membership group that helps support the development of the museum’s collection.
Portrait of Delia Delaney (1933) presents a bold and vibrant likeness of the artist’s mother, Delia (1865-1958), the stern matriarch of the family. The portrait was likely done during Beauford’s return trip to Knoxville in 1933. The portrait must have been an important keepsake, as the artist never sold it and used it as the basis for a larger oil portrait some 30 years later.
While Delaney describes her features with great attention to detail and conveys her strength, he transforms the background into an abstract study of luminous color.
(1933) Pastel on paper
19 x 20 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Knoxville Museum of Art, purchase with funds provided by the KMA Collectors Circle with additional gifts from Barbara Apking, June and Rob Heller, Donna Kerr, Alexandra Rosen and Donald Cooney, Ted Smith and David Butler, Mimi and Milton Turner, John Cotham, Jan and Pete Crawford, Cathy and Mark Hill, Florence and Russell Johnston, John Z. C. Thomas, Donna and Terry Wertz, Jayne and Myron Ely, Sarah Stowers, Robin and Joe Ben Turner, and Jacqueline Wilson
Dante Pavone as Christ (1948) depicts one of Beauford’s closest friends during the period in which the artist was living at 181 Greene Street in New York (1936-1953). Pavone (1910-1997) was a singer and later a voice coach for performers including Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Aretha Franklin, and Steven Tyler.
For years, Delaney was obsessed with depicting Pavone, and produced many portraits of him — several of which appear to represent the spirit of his sitter rather than his physical likeness. This portrait is especially unusual as the artist presents his subject as Christ, with his left hand raised in a gesture of blessing, and his head encircled by a halo of brilliant white light.
(1948) Pastel on paper
23 ¼ x 19 ¾ inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Knoxville Museum of Art, purchase with funds provided by the KMA Collectors Circle with additional gifts from Barbara Apking, June and Rob Heller, Donna Kerr, Alexandra Rosen and Donald Cooney, Ted Smith and David Butler, Mimi and Milton Turner, John Cotham, Jan and Pete Crawford, Cathy and Mark Hill, Florence and Russell Johnston, John Z. C. Thomas, Donna and Terry Wertz, Jayne and Myron Ely, Sarah Stowers, Robin and Joe Ben Turner, and Jacqueline Wilson
As Delaney’s friend author Henry Miller observed in The Amazing and Invariable Beauford Delaney (1945),
Supposing that for the next five years he [Delaney] were to do nothing but Dante...Dante was a wondrous landscape for Beauford; he had cosmic proportions, and his skull though shorn of locks was full of mystery. A man studying his friend day in and day out for five years ought to arrive at some remarkable conclusions. With time Dante could become for Beauford what Oedipus became for Freud.
Beauford at MRG - It's Not Your Nature
The Michael Rosenfeld Gallery's summer exhibition entitled It's Not Your Nature features 25 artists. Two magnificent works by Beauford are included in the show.
Untitled (Trees) is from Beauford's New York period. Dated circa 1945, it comes from a time when Beauford created many cityscapes at his Greene Street studio.
Untitled (Trees)
(c. 1945) Oil on canvas
29 1/8" x 23 1/8", signed
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
Untitled (Abstraction #7), dated 1964, is from Beauford's Paris years. He was living at his rue Vercingétorix studio when he painted this work.
Untitled (Abstraction #7)
(1964) Oil on canvas
51 1/4" x 38 1/4", signed and dated
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
1964 was the year that Beauford had a one-man show at the Galerie Lambert. Biographer David A. Leeming says that he worked "both on portraits and abstractions dominated by his favorite yellow." Leeming also says that a yellow abstraction displayed during a group show at the Galerie Internationale d'Art Contemporaine during the spring of the year was praised as "an emanation of the sun in which one finds all seasons but winter, and light is filtered through the painter's tone and touch."
Untitled (Abstraction #7) may well be one of the paintings described above.
It's Not Your Nature runs through August 5 2016.
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC
100 Eleventh Avenue @ 19th
New York, NY 10011
(212) 247-0082
Untitled (Trees) is from Beauford's New York period. Dated circa 1945, it comes from a time when Beauford created many cityscapes at his Greene Street studio.
(c. 1945) Oil on canvas
29 1/8" x 23 1/8", signed
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
Untitled (Abstraction #7), dated 1964, is from Beauford's Paris years. He was living at his rue Vercingétorix studio when he painted this work.
(1964) Oil on canvas
51 1/4" x 38 1/4", signed and dated
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
1964 was the year that Beauford had a one-man show at the Galerie Lambert. Biographer David A. Leeming says that he worked "both on portraits and abstractions dominated by his favorite yellow." Leeming also says that a yellow abstraction displayed during a group show at the Galerie Internationale d'Art Contemporaine during the spring of the year was praised as "an emanation of the sun in which one finds all seasons but winter, and light is filtered through the painter's tone and touch."
Untitled (Abstraction #7) may well be one of the paintings described above.
It's Not Your Nature runs through August 5 2016.
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC
100 Eleventh Avenue @ 19th
New York, NY 10011
(212) 247-0082
Beauford's "The Burning Bush" in "Modern Heroics" Exhibition at the Newark Museum
The Newark Museum is currently holding a six-month exhibition of African-American expressionist art called Modern Heroics: 75 Years of African-American Expressionism at the Newark Museum. It opens today.
The museum's Web page describes the show as featuring "34 paintings and sculptural works with an emphasis on storytelling and expressive imagery" and says that it "brings together rarely exhibited works by leading historical and contemporary African-American artists, placing in dialogue several generations and a range of self-taught and formally trained approaches."
In an article that I published several years ago, I reported that the Newark Museum holds two Beauford Delaney works and that only one was on display. This work, called The Burning Bush, is part of the Modern Heroics exhibition. Dated 1941, the year that Beauford revealed himself publicly as a modernist (according to biographer David A. Leeming), it is the earliest work included in the exhibition.
The Burning Bush
(1941) Oil on paperboard
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The introduction for the exhibition catalog, written by Tricia Laughlin Bloom, Curator of American Art, describes The Burning Bush as follows:
Regarding Beauford and his relationship with the museum, Bloom says:
During the Modern Heroics exhibition, The Burning Bush will be displayed in the featured exhibition space on the first floor of the museum.
The museum's Web page describes the show as featuring "34 paintings and sculptural works with an emphasis on storytelling and expressive imagery" and says that it "brings together rarely exhibited works by leading historical and contemporary African-American artists, placing in dialogue several generations and a range of self-taught and formally trained approaches."
In an article that I published several years ago, I reported that the Newark Museum holds two Beauford Delaney works and that only one was on display. This work, called The Burning Bush, is part of the Modern Heroics exhibition. Dated 1941, the year that Beauford revealed himself publicly as a modernist (according to biographer David A. Leeming), it is the earliest work included in the exhibition.
(1941) Oil on paperboard
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The introduction for the exhibition catalog, written by Tricia Laughlin Bloom, Curator of American Art, describes The Burning Bush as follows:
A compact, thickly painted composition of an abstract landscape, The Burning Bush reinterprets the Old Testament story in which God appeared to Moses as a burning bush: divinity and nature seem to converge in this forceful scene.
Regarding Beauford and his relationship with the museum, Bloom says:
Delaney happened to play an important role in building Newark’s permanent collection of African-American art. In 1943 he made a gift to the Museum of a work on paper made that year, titled Portrait of a Man. This pastel drawing became the second work by an African-American artist to enter Newark’s permanent collection.
Portrait of a Man
(1943) Pastel on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
A series of handwritten and typed letters between Delaney and Beatrice Windsor (director of the Newark Museum from 1929 to 1947) reveals a simple but significant exchange that was catalyzing for the growth of the collection. Ms. Windsor, who knew Delaney personally, made a gift to him of several frames, and as a gesture of thanks Delaney made a gift to the Museum of his work.
In the correspondence between Delaney and Windsor both expressed sincere appreciation for the other’s gift, and the following year Newark organized its first original show dedicated to African-American art—an exhibition to which Delaney, Norman Lewis, Romare Bearden and ten other artists lent their work directly.
Nearly half of the artists included in that 1944 show are now represented in Newark’s permanent collection, a living testament to the Museum’s commitment to the art of today.
During the Modern Heroics exhibition, The Burning Bush will be displayed in the featured exhibition space on the first floor of the museum.
Adeline Goldminc-Tronzo Remembers Beauford
Adeline Goldminc-Tronzo is a French artist who moved to New York City in the mid 1970s. She studied at the Art Students League with American Artists: Marshall Glasier, Joseph Hirsch, Robert Beverly Hale, and Norman Lewis. She holds a BFA in Art and Philosophy.
Adeline wrote to me after having discovered the Les Amis blog. She wanted to share a photo of Beauford that was taken before his death at Sainte-Anne's Hospital in Paris. She also shared the story of how she came to know Beauford and Beauford's brother, Joseph, and graciously granted her permission for me to publish them here.
Beauford at Sainte-Anne's Hospital - 1978
Image courtesy of Adeline Goldminc-Tronzo
The year was 1968. As a kid - and I mean a kid (I was 15 years old) - I would escape my family and go to Montparnasse to hang out with artists.
One of these artists was Anton Prinner (a Hungarian artist) and sometimes Beauford would come to the Coupole and hang out at Prinner's table. And I had the privilege to be there a few times. Beauford did not speak French and I was a kid and hardly spoke English.
He was a quiet man - a soulful, dreamy presence.
And the striking memory I have is of Beauford's most beautiful hands. They really were beautiful!
Years later, as a very young adult, I moved to NY. While there, I befriended Jo (Joseph) Delaney. A beautiful soul as well.
Jo mentioned a brother once or twice but never by name and where he lived ...
Then one day, he mentioned Beauford and it was amazing! How I could meet these two brothers in two different countries, eight years apart?
Serendipity.
Jo was very worried about Beauford. He told me he was at Sainte-Anne Hospital in Paris and that the French government had taken all his work and Jo could not go there because JO was broke and didn't understand the legalese, the language etc ....
And apparently James Baldwin had moved to the south and could no longer be of much help for Beauford at that point.
It was a heartbreaking story.
I was to visit my parents in Paris and there Beauford was - having an exhibit at the Studio Museum in Harlem. Jo asked me to go to the hospital and to try and help Beauford.
So I went to Paris and visited with Beauford at Sainte Anne's, giving him the catalog for the exhibition at the Studio Museum. But Beauford was in another place. I mean he was there but he could no longer communicate. He kept looking at his hands...those beautiful hands!
I returned to visit him a couple more times...brought him socks and pajamas and talked, talked about his brother, about his exhibit, about painting...
I do not know if Beauford understood. He never talked. He was in another world.
I returned to NY and saw Jo until I moved to California. When I returned from California a couple of years later, Jo was no longer in his Union Square place.
And I never saw Jo again.
Adeline wrote to me after having discovered the Les Amis blog. She wanted to share a photo of Beauford that was taken before his death at Sainte-Anne's Hospital in Paris. She also shared the story of how she came to know Beauford and Beauford's brother, Joseph, and graciously granted her permission for me to publish them here.
Image courtesy of Adeline Goldminc-Tronzo
The year was 1968. As a kid - and I mean a kid (I was 15 years old) - I would escape my family and go to Montparnasse to hang out with artists.
One of these artists was Anton Prinner (a Hungarian artist) and sometimes Beauford would come to the Coupole and hang out at Prinner's table. And I had the privilege to be there a few times. Beauford did not speak French and I was a kid and hardly spoke English.
He was a quiet man - a soulful, dreamy presence.
And the striking memory I have is of Beauford's most beautiful hands. They really were beautiful!
Years later, as a very young adult, I moved to NY. While there, I befriended Jo (Joseph) Delaney. A beautiful soul as well.
Jo mentioned a brother once or twice but never by name and where he lived ...
Then one day, he mentioned Beauford and it was amazing! How I could meet these two brothers in two different countries, eight years apart?
Serendipity.
Jo was very worried about Beauford. He told me he was at Sainte-Anne Hospital in Paris and that the French government had taken all his work and Jo could not go there because JO was broke and didn't understand the legalese, the language etc ....
And apparently James Baldwin had moved to the south and could no longer be of much help for Beauford at that point.
It was a heartbreaking story.
I was to visit my parents in Paris and there Beauford was - having an exhibit at the Studio Museum in Harlem. Jo asked me to go to the hospital and to try and help Beauford.
So I went to Paris and visited with Beauford at Sainte Anne's, giving him the catalog for the exhibition at the Studio Museum. But Beauford was in another place. I mean he was there but he could no longer communicate. He kept looking at his hands...those beautiful hands!
I returned to visit him a couple more times...brought him socks and pajamas and talked, talked about his brother, about his exhibit, about painting...
I do not know if Beauford understood. He never talked. He was in another world.
I returned to NY and saw Jo until I moved to California. When I returned from California a couple of years later, Jo was no longer in his Union Square place.
And I never saw Jo again.
Beauford at the International James Baldwin Conference in Paris
In the Entrée to Black Paris blog from Thursday, June 2, I reported on the International James Baldwin conference that was hosted by the American University of Paris from May 26-28, 2016.
You might well imagine that Beauford's relationship with James Baldwin was discussed during the conference. At least five presenters discussed it in depth or focused exclusively on it:
Deborah Tulani Salahu-Din of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture spoke about the relationship between Baldwin and Beauford and the inclusion of the Smithsonian's portrait of James Baldwin by Beauford in their Making the Way gallery.
James Baldwin
(1963) Pastel on Paper
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institute
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
James Smalls of the University of Maryland presented "James Baldwin and Beauford Delaney; The Color of Light" and showed images of several of Beauford's portraits of Baldwin.
Portrait of James Baldwin
(1945) Oil on canvas
Philadelphia Museum of Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This particular portrait appeared in an unexpected form at the opening plenary session of the conference!
Portrait of James Baldwin on T-shirt
© Discover Paris!
In the panel discussion called "'The Light Was Always Changing': James Baldwin (Re)Sighted," Tyler Schmidt of Lehman College, CUNY in the Bronx spoke about Beauford's Rosa Parks series and his Street Sweeper in the context of Beauford's concern with the Civil Rights movement in the U.S.
Rosa Parks
(1967) Oil on canvas
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Street Sweeper (Le Balayeur)
(1968) Oil on canvas
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
During the same panel, in a talk entitled "James Baldwin, Beauford Delaney, and Light," freelance curator/writer/art historian Lizzetta LeFalle Collins spoke of why and how she believes that Baldwin and Beauford shared a creative process for writing and painting, respectively.
She read the passage from Baldwin's essay about the evolution of Beauford's work during the Clamart years and showed an image of one of Beauford's abstracts from that period, which she compared to a photo of a private garden behind a house a few doors down from Beauford and Baldwin’s Clamart home.
Private garden on rue Paul Vaillant Couturier
© Les Amis de Beauford Delaney
I presented "Beauford and Baldwin: Paris Stomping Grounds," which was a slide show of many of the favorite hangouts and places where Beauford and Baldwin lived in Paris - and beyond. I also spoke of the recent Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition.
Monique shows the Beauford Delaney catalog
© Discover Paris!
It was gratifying to hear several people declare how much they appreciate this blog as a rich source of information about Beauford!
You might well imagine that Beauford's relationship with James Baldwin was discussed during the conference. At least five presenters discussed it in depth or focused exclusively on it:
Deborah Tulani Salahu-Din of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture spoke about the relationship between Baldwin and Beauford and the inclusion of the Smithsonian's portrait of James Baldwin by Beauford in their Making the Way gallery.
(1963) Pastel on Paper
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institute
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
James Smalls of the University of Maryland presented "James Baldwin and Beauford Delaney; The Color of Light" and showed images of several of Beauford's portraits of Baldwin.
(1945) Oil on canvas
Philadelphia Museum of Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This particular portrait appeared in an unexpected form at the opening plenary session of the conference!
© Discover Paris!
In the panel discussion called "'The Light Was Always Changing': James Baldwin (Re)Sighted," Tyler Schmidt of Lehman College, CUNY in the Bronx spoke about Beauford's Rosa Parks series and his Street Sweeper in the context of Beauford's concern with the Civil Rights movement in the U.S.
(1967) Oil on canvas
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1968) Oil on canvas
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
During the same panel, in a talk entitled "James Baldwin, Beauford Delaney, and Light," freelance curator/writer/art historian Lizzetta LeFalle Collins spoke of why and how she believes that Baldwin and Beauford shared a creative process for writing and painting, respectively.
She read the passage from Baldwin's essay about the evolution of Beauford's work during the Clamart years and showed an image of one of Beauford's abstracts from that period, which she compared to a photo of a private garden behind a house a few doors down from Beauford and Baldwin’s Clamart home.
© Les Amis de Beauford Delaney
I presented "Beauford and Baldwin: Paris Stomping Grounds," which was a slide show of many of the favorite hangouts and places where Beauford and Baldwin lived in Paris - and beyond. I also spoke of the recent Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition.
© Discover Paris!
It was gratifying to hear several people declare how much they appreciate this blog as a rich source of information about Beauford!
Cause to Celebrate: Kickstarter Campaign for Exhibition Video a Success!
On the heels of the success of Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color, we intend to take the exhibition to museums in the U.S. and Europe to further extend its remarkable impact. To encourage museums to host it, we're working with the Wells International Foundation (WIF) to create a video documentary that presents Beauford, the works displayed, and the accompanying educational and cultural programming. We'll use the hours of video footage and hundreds of photographs from the eight events that we hosted during the exhibition to create the documentary.
On April 25, 2016, WIF launched a 30-day, all-or-nothing Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to raise money to cover the costs for the documentary. It ended on Tuesday, May 24 at 3 PM Eastern time.
Here are the final results:
77 backers
$6,360 pledged of the original $5,000 goal (127% funded)
$1,360 pledged of the stretch goal of $1,250 (108% funded)
In other words, the campaign was a phenomenal success!
Kickstarter is expected to make the funds available within 14 days of the end of the campaign, but we've already begun work on the post-production phase of the documentary. If you'd like to keep abreast of developments, click HERE.
Beauford's Paris: Beauford's Hôtel Odessa Plaque Has Company
The other day, I took a long-time friend to see the Beauford Delaney plaques in Montparnasse before setting off to a neighborhood restaurant for lunch. Our first stop was the Hôtel Odessa. I looked up to point out the plaque and was more than surprised to find that a second plaque has been installed on the hotel's façade!
Delaney and Foujita plaques - Hôtel Odessa
Image courtesy of Félix Vega
This plaque commemorates Japanese-French artist Léonard Tsuguhara Foujita, who lived at the Hôtel Odessa in 1913. (Beauford would briefly reside there 40 years later.) Foujita was part of the Ecole de Paris, the flood of artists who settled in Montparnasse in the early 20th century. He counted Picasso, Modigliani, Matisse, and many other famous artists among his friends and was one of the few who became financially successful in his lifetime.
Hôtel Odessa is modestly priced, pleasant hotel that has completely renovated its rooms and recently refurbished its façade. It is particularly well suited for student groups. One has to wonder if the hotel will raise its rates now that it is beginning to tout its contribution to the history of the quarter!
************
We're offering a special private visit to see the two Beauford Delaney commemorative plaques in Montparnasse, followed by a sit-down lunch in the neighborhood, for up to three persons pledging $1000 or more to the Kickstarter campaign for the Beauford Delaney exhibition video project. I'll personally deliver this tour and lunch will be on me!
You have to be living in Paris or visiting within a year to take advantage of this reward.
Click on the link below to learn about the campaign, our pledge levels, and all the rewards that we've made available:
Beauford Delaney: Sharing a Master's Art with the World!
Image courtesy of Félix Vega
This plaque commemorates Japanese-French artist Léonard Tsuguhara Foujita, who lived at the Hôtel Odessa in 1913. (Beauford would briefly reside there 40 years later.) Foujita was part of the Ecole de Paris, the flood of artists who settled in Montparnasse in the early 20th century. He counted Picasso, Modigliani, Matisse, and many other famous artists among his friends and was one of the few who became financially successful in his lifetime.
Hôtel Odessa is modestly priced, pleasant hotel that has completely renovated its rooms and recently refurbished its façade. It is particularly well suited for student groups. One has to wonder if the hotel will raise its rates now that it is beginning to tout its contribution to the history of the quarter!
We're offering a special private visit to see the two Beauford Delaney commemorative plaques in Montparnasse, followed by a sit-down lunch in the neighborhood, for up to three persons pledging $1000 or more to the Kickstarter campaign for the Beauford Delaney exhibition video project. I'll personally deliver this tour and lunch will be on me!
You have to be living in Paris or visiting within a year to take advantage of this reward.
Click on the link below to learn about the campaign, our pledge levels, and all the rewards that we've made available:
Beauford Delaney: Sharing a Master's Art with the World!
Human Interest: Beauford's Self-portrait Featured at the Whitney Museum
The Human Interest: Portraits from the Whitney’s Collection at the Whitney Museum of American Art features over 200 works that "show changing approaches to portraiture from the early 1900s until today."
Among those works is one of Beauford's most exquisite self-portraits.
Auto-portrait
(1965) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
It is on view in the Robert W. Wilson Galleries on the 7th floor, in a section called "Cracked Mirror" that focuses on portraits created by American artists in the years surrounding World War II. It is featured on a wall all its own!
This self-portrait is one of five Beauford Delaney paintings and works on paper in the Whitney's collection. None of the other works are being displayed at present.
Beauford has a rich history with the Whitney, beginning in 1930 when it was named the Whitney Museum Studio Galleries. Read about it HERE.
Human Interest will be shown from Apr 27, 2016 – Feb 12, 2017. However, several works will be rotated off display after July 2016, due to their fragility. No decision has yet been made as to whether Beauford's self-portrait will be one of them.
For more information about the exhibition, click HERE.
************
COMING SOON:
Video of Beauford Delaney art exhibition!
Because of the tremendous success of the Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition held at Columbia Global Centers | Paris (February 4-March 15, 2016), Les Amis and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are creating a video documentary of the show and the associated cultural and educational programs. We plan to use this documentary to encourage U.S. and European museums to host the exhibition.
WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!
To contribute to the production of the video, click HERE.
To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.
Among those works is one of Beauford's most exquisite self-portraits.
(1965) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
It is on view in the Robert W. Wilson Galleries on the 7th floor, in a section called "Cracked Mirror" that focuses on portraits created by American artists in the years surrounding World War II. It is featured on a wall all its own!
This self-portrait is one of five Beauford Delaney paintings and works on paper in the Whitney's collection. None of the other works are being displayed at present.
Beauford has a rich history with the Whitney, beginning in 1930 when it was named the Whitney Museum Studio Galleries. Read about it HERE.
Human Interest will be shown from Apr 27, 2016 – Feb 12, 2017. However, several works will be rotated off display after July 2016, due to their fragility. No decision has yet been made as to whether Beauford's self-portrait will be one of them.
For more information about the exhibition, click HERE.
COMING SOON:
Video of Beauford Delaney art exhibition!
Because of the tremendous success of the Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition held at Columbia Global Centers | Paris (February 4-March 15, 2016), Les Amis and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are creating a video documentary of the show and the associated cultural and educational programs. We plan to use this documentary to encourage U.S. and European museums to host the exhibition.
WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!
To contribute to the production of the video, click HERE.
To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.
Melancholy, Sorrow, and Joy - Part 2
Last week, I shared comments by two individuals on the range of emotions expressed in Beauford's art:
I then presented images from the recent Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition that I believe many people would interpret as joyous.
Today, I'm presenting images of works from the exhibition that could be interpreted as representing melancholy or sorrow.
Untitled
(1961) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The palette that Beauford chose for the muddy-colored, untitled painting above is quite atypical of his work. Dark greens with numerous touches of grays, browns, and black mostly obscure a yellow background with a few orange-red highlights. For me, this conjures feelings of turbulent melancholy.
Untitled
(1961) Mixed media on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Beauford used bold and vibrant colors for the mixed media work shown above. For me, it evokes a storm, perhaps even a storm at sea. Cobalt to midnight blue bands at the top, middle, and bottom of the painting could represent sadness, and the acid yellow-green zigzags bring to mind frayed nerves superimposed on persistent melancholy.
Beauford created both of these works in 1961. We know that this was a particularly stressful year for him - as early as March, he wrote to his brother, Joseph, to say that
As for the latter part of the year, he spent much of it in hospitals in Greece and in Paris due to a mental breakdown, including two suicide attempts, as well as severe liver and kidney problems.
Self-portrait
(undated) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
One of the most intriguing works from the exhibition is Beauford's undated self-portrait. More than one person visiting the exhibition commented that his head appears to emerge from a planter, an urn, or a cooking pot. I find his expression to be haunted, but others commented that his eyes appear to be wide with amazement or casting a piercing glance.
And I wonder why Beauford chose green as the predominant color for his skin tone. I thought the color might reflect physical illness or mental unease, but an artist friend of Beauford found it to be beautiful and not at all disturbing.
I welcome your comments on these works and those from Part 1 of this post. What emotions do you see in them? What emotions do they stir in you?
************
COMING SOON:
Video of Beauford Delaney art exhibition!
Because of the tremendous success of the Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition held at Columbia Global Centers | Paris (February 4-March 15, 2016), Les Amis and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are creating a video documentary of the show and the associated cultural and educational programs. We plan to use this documentary to encourage U.S. and European museums to host the exhibition.
WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!
To contribute to the production of the video, click HERE.
To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.
We might talk about the way a canvas painted by Beauford could imperceptibly take you through all the colors of the prism and express all the possible nuances from deep sorrow to exhilarating joy, from the indelible sadness of the flowery wallpaper of a cheap hotel room to a whirlwind of bright and vivid colors, the large solar festival promised to the blessed of all religions and faiths.
- Marc Albert-Levin, art critic
...I am drawn to Beauford's colors--something seems so melancholy, yet on the verge of joy.
- Cary Alan Johnson, writer and human rights consultant
I then presented images from the recent Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition that I believe many people would interpret as joyous.
Today, I'm presenting images of works from the exhibition that could be interpreted as representing melancholy or sorrow.
(1961) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The palette that Beauford chose for the muddy-colored, untitled painting above is quite atypical of his work. Dark greens with numerous touches of grays, browns, and black mostly obscure a yellow background with a few orange-red highlights. For me, this conjures feelings of turbulent melancholy.
(1961) Mixed media on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Beauford used bold and vibrant colors for the mixed media work shown above. For me, it evokes a storm, perhaps even a storm at sea. Cobalt to midnight blue bands at the top, middle, and bottom of the painting could represent sadness, and the acid yellow-green zigzags bring to mind frayed nerves superimposed on persistent melancholy.
Beauford created both of these works in 1961. We know that this was a particularly stressful year for him - as early as March, he wrote to his brother, Joseph, to say that
However sad at times we might be we have come through great trials and tribulations but must never lose sight of our sainted parents and God's great gifts...
As for the latter part of the year, he spent much of it in hospitals in Greece and in Paris due to a mental breakdown, including two suicide attempts, as well as severe liver and kidney problems.
(undated) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
One of the most intriguing works from the exhibition is Beauford's undated self-portrait. More than one person visiting the exhibition commented that his head appears to emerge from a planter, an urn, or a cooking pot. I find his expression to be haunted, but others commented that his eyes appear to be wide with amazement or casting a piercing glance.
And I wonder why Beauford chose green as the predominant color for his skin tone. I thought the color might reflect physical illness or mental unease, but an artist friend of Beauford found it to be beautiful and not at all disturbing.
I welcome your comments on these works and those from Part 1 of this post. What emotions do you see in them? What emotions do they stir in you?
COMING SOON:
Video of Beauford Delaney art exhibition!
Because of the tremendous success of the Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition held at Columbia Global Centers | Paris (February 4-March 15, 2016), Les Amis and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are creating a video documentary of the show and the associated cultural and educational programs. We plan to use this documentary to encourage U.S. and European museums to host the exhibition.
WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!
To contribute to the production of the video, click HERE.
To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.
Melancholy, Sorrow, and Joy - Part 1
As I negotiate the aftermath of the Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition, I'm stunned to realize that six weeks have already passed since the closure of the show!
Catalog cover for Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color
Thanks to the exhibition, I've had the opportunity to meet lots of people and to introduce Beauford's work to many who were previously unaware of him and his artistic genius.
And I've had the opportunity to listen to and read thoughts and scholarly critiques of the works displayed in the exhibit.
In today's post, I'm highlighting two remarks that are remarkably similar in sentiment, yet made by individuals who have never met each other. I then illustrate them with images of Beauford's work.
The first comes from Marc Albert-Levin, the French art critic who contributed the article entitled Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color: A Critical Review of Beauford's Portraiture.
In his essay entitled “L’anachronique du flâneur N° 12,” ("Anachronic Chronicle, N° 12"), Albert-Levin describes his interactions with painter Herbert Gentry, who was a friend of Beauford. He says that when he and Gentry got together, they would often speak of Beauford:
The second comes from Cary Alan Johnson, writer and human rights consultant:
Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color does indeed take you through all colors of the prism. But what any observer experience in terms of emotion as described in the two quotes above depends upon what that observer brings to his or her interaction with each individual work.
I daresay that many would consider the vibrant colors of the works below to represent the emotion of joy.
Untitled
(1970) Mixed media on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Les Embruns
(1963) Mixed media on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Untitled
(1960) Mixed media on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
But finding melancholy and sadness in the paintings from this exhibition could be far more subjective. We'll explore this in next week's post.
************
COMING SOON:
Video of Beauford Delaney art exhibition!
Because of the tremendous success of the Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition held at Columbia Global Centers | Paris (February 4-March 15, 2016), Les Amis and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are creating a video documentary of the show and the associated cultural and educational programs. We plan to use this documentary to encourage U.S. and European museums to host the exhibition.
WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!
To contribute to the production of the video, click HERE.
To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.
Thanks to the exhibition, I've had the opportunity to meet lots of people and to introduce Beauford's work to many who were previously unaware of him and his artistic genius.
And I've had the opportunity to listen to and read thoughts and scholarly critiques of the works displayed in the exhibit.
In today's post, I'm highlighting two remarks that are remarkably similar in sentiment, yet made by individuals who have never met each other. I then illustrate them with images of Beauford's work.
The first comes from Marc Albert-Levin, the French art critic who contributed the article entitled Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color: A Critical Review of Beauford's Portraiture.
In his essay entitled “L’anachronique du flâneur N° 12,” ("Anachronic Chronicle, N° 12"), Albert-Levin describes his interactions with painter Herbert Gentry, who was a friend of Beauford. He says that when he and Gentry got together, they would often speak of Beauford:
We might talk about the way a canvas painted by Beauford could imperceptibly take you through all the colors of the prism and express all the possible nuances from deep sorrow to exhilarating joy, from the indelible sadness of the flowery wallpaper of a cheap hotel room to a whirlwind of bright and vivid colors, the large solar festival promised to the blessed of all religions and faiths.
The second comes from Cary Alan Johnson, writer and human rights consultant:
I had a chance to look at the catalog. I am drawn to Beauford's colors--something seems so melancholy, yet on the verge of joy.
Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color does indeed take you through all colors of the prism. But what any observer experience in terms of emotion as described in the two quotes above depends upon what that observer brings to his or her interaction with each individual work.
I daresay that many would consider the vibrant colors of the works below to represent the emotion of joy.
(1970) Mixed media on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1963) Mixed media on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1960) Mixed media on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
But finding melancholy and sadness in the paintings from this exhibition could be far more subjective. We'll explore this in next week's post.
COMING SOON:
Video of Beauford Delaney art exhibition!
Because of the tremendous success of the Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition held at Columbia Global Centers | Paris (February 4-March 15, 2016), Les Amis and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are creating a video documentary of the show and the associated cultural and educational programs. We plan to use this documentary to encourage U.S. and European museums to host the exhibition.
WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!
To contribute to the production of the video, click HERE.
To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.
Beauford at Swann Auction Galleries: April 2016 Sale Results
Swann Auction Galleries held its spring African-American Fine Art on April 7, 2016.
Two of the three Beauford Delaney works offered at auction were sold.
The startlingly vibrant gouache entitled Untitled (Composition in Purple, Blue and Green) (Lot 41) sold for $6,750.
Untitled (Composition in Purple, Blue and Green)
(circa late 1950s) Gouache on Schoeller Parole paper
450x300 mm; 17 3/4x11 3/4 inches
Signed in red gouache, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The gouache entitled Untitled (Abstract in Mustard Yellow and Gray Green, Mallorca) (Lot 42) sold for $6,250.
Untitled Untitled (Abstract in Mustard Yellow and Gray Green, Mallorca)
(1961) Gouache on thin wove paper
495x648 mm; 19 1/2x25 1/2 inches
Signed, dated and inscribed "San Telmo, Mallorca" in ink, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
All sale prices mentioned above include Swann's buyer's premium.*
Lot 16, an untitled waterfront landscape done in oil on linen canvas, remains unsold.
Untitled (Waterfront Landscape)
(1941) Oil on linen canvas
394x493 mm; 15 1/2x19 1/2 inches
Signed and dated in oil, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
*At auction, there are two prices--the hammer price, or the price at which the item sells during the auction, and the price with the buyer's premium. All auction houses have a buyer's premium that the buyer pays to the auction house on top of the hammer price. The buyer’s premium for items purchased directly through Swann is 25%. Swann Auction Galleries now reports the "hammer price" and the price that include the buyer's premium in its online catalog.
************
COMING SOON:
Video of Beauford Delaney art exhibition!
Because of the tremendous success of the Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition held at Columbia Global Centers | Paris (February 4-March 15, 2016), Les Amis and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are creating a video documentary of the show and the associated cultural and educational programs. We plan to use this documentary to encourage U.S. and European museums to host the exhibition.
WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!
To contribute to the production of the video, click HERE.
To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.
Two of the three Beauford Delaney works offered at auction were sold.
The startlingly vibrant gouache entitled Untitled (Composition in Purple, Blue and Green) (Lot 41) sold for $6,750.
(circa late 1950s) Gouache on Schoeller Parole paper
450x300 mm; 17 3/4x11 3/4 inches
Signed in red gouache, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The gouache entitled Untitled (Abstract in Mustard Yellow and Gray Green, Mallorca) (Lot 42) sold for $6,250.
(1961) Gouache on thin wove paper
495x648 mm; 19 1/2x25 1/2 inches
Signed, dated and inscribed "San Telmo, Mallorca" in ink, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
All sale prices mentioned above include Swann's buyer's premium.*
Lot 16, an untitled waterfront landscape done in oil on linen canvas, remains unsold.
(1941) Oil on linen canvas
394x493 mm; 15 1/2x19 1/2 inches
Signed and dated in oil, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
*At auction, there are two prices--the hammer price, or the price at which the item sells during the auction, and the price with the buyer's premium. All auction houses have a buyer's premium that the buyer pays to the auction house on top of the hammer price. The buyer’s premium for items purchased directly through Swann is 25%. Swann Auction Galleries now reports the "hammer price" and the price that include the buyer's premium in its online catalog.
COMING SOON:
Video of Beauford Delaney art exhibition!
Because of the tremendous success of the Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition held at Columbia Global Centers | Paris (February 4-March 15, 2016), Les Amis and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are creating a video documentary of the show and the associated cultural and educational programs. We plan to use this documentary to encourage U.S. and European museums to host the exhibition.
WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!
To contribute to the production of the video, click HERE.
To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.
Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color: A Critical Review of Beauford’s Portraiture
Marc Albert-Levin is a French art critic, translator, and writer. Author of numerous monographs on contemporary artists, he has collaborated with a number of published reviews over the years. These include Cimaise, Les Lettres françaises, Jazz Hot, Passage d’Encre, and Art Press.
The text below represents Albert-Levin’s English translation of excerpts from his most recent essay, “L’anachronique du flâneur N° 12,” ("Anachronic Chronicle, N° 12"), which is published in French at www.saisonsdeculture.com.
**********
When, at the beginning of a recent visit, Michel Ragon asked me his recurrent question: “What have you done this week?”, it was not easy to answer. Because for me that week had been mainly marked by the exhibition, at the Columbia Global Centers in Montparnasse, of an African-American painter I knew well and greatly admired. His name was Beauford Delaney and I could not think about him without emotion or affection.
Catalog cover: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color
Self-portrait
Undated, Oil on canvas
76 x 57 cm; 29.9" x 22.4"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The exhibition held at the Columbia Global Centers in Paris at 4, rue de Chevreuse, 75006 from February 4th to February 26th 2016 (editor’s note: the exhibition was extended through March 15th) presented some forty works of Beauford Delaney: oils on canvas, watercolors, colored inks or mixed technique on paper, all coming from private collections in Paris.
Beauford lived in Paris from 1953 to 1979, the year of his death. For twenty years, his work played on two registers. First what was called in France "lyrical abstraction" and in the US "abstract expressionism". On the other hand, he did portraits in a very personal fashion. It is as if he had abandoned all conventions, with a desire, for each canvas, to paint as he had never done it before. I see no other equivalent, with the possible exception of “Le Douanier” Rousseau’s portraits that can be seen right now (April 2016) in a beautiful exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay.
In Beauford’s portraits there is something that might have more to do with the empathy felt by the painter for his model than with pictorial technique. An effort, when he faces the man or the woman he is looking at, to find another resemblance, deeper than the photographic one. A clean sweep of all conventions, including perspective, in order to find, when looking at a person, which colors define him or her best.
Portrait of Robert Tricoire
1969, Oil on canvas
65 x 54 cm; 25.6" x 21.2"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
In the portrait of Robert Tricoire, the diaphanous quality of the skin and the transparency of the eyes contrast with the bottle-green background and the navy blue sweater. In the portrait of Mrs. Du Closel, Beauford’s benefactress who, in his final years, put at his disposal a studio before he was hospitalized, what strikes most is a lightness that leads almost to evanescence.
Portrait of Vassili Pikoula
1970, Oil on canvas
130 x 99 cm; 51.2" x 38.9"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
One of the most impressive paintings in this exhibition was a relatively large, 130 x 99 cm oil on canvas portrait of Mrs Vassili Pikoula, dated 1970. Propped in a chair, Pikoula seems to fix the viewer with the dignity of an empress. She stands out as much as she vanishes in an abstract background of great finesse and subtlety. The pattern of her dress … the drapery of a curtain behind it … everything is suggested, nothing too heavily stated.
Man in African Dress
1972, Watercolor
40.6 x 31.7 cm; 15.9" x 12.5"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Also reproduced in the catalog is a watercolor from 1972 depicting a young “Man in African Dress” to whom Beauford conferred the same regal quality. Seated cross-legged on his stool in a large yellow robe, his face irradiates the same pink as the light passing through the doorway. Yes, you read well, this is a young Black man - recognizable by the color of his arms and an ankle not covered by the dress - but whose face is illuminated by a pink light. And the floor is also invaded by the same flood of light. The color pink reflects the softness and tenderness with which Beauford intended to surround his model.
************
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Columbia Global Centers | Paris, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) brought you this exhibition of Beauford Delaney works at Reid Hall in Paris.
We're creating a documentary of the exhibition that will encourage U.S. and European museums to host it!
To contribute to the funding for this effort, click HERE.
The text below represents Albert-Levin’s English translation of excerpts from his most recent essay, “L’anachronique du flâneur N° 12,” ("Anachronic Chronicle, N° 12"), which is published in French at www.saisonsdeculture.com.
When, at the beginning of a recent visit, Michel Ragon asked me his recurrent question: “What have you done this week?”, it was not easy to answer. Because for me that week had been mainly marked by the exhibition, at the Columbia Global Centers in Montparnasse, of an African-American painter I knew well and greatly admired. His name was Beauford Delaney and I could not think about him without emotion or affection.
Self-portrait
Undated, Oil on canvas
76 x 57 cm; 29.9" x 22.4"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The exhibition held at the Columbia Global Centers in Paris at 4, rue de Chevreuse, 75006 from February 4th to February 26th 2016 (editor’s note: the exhibition was extended through March 15th) presented some forty works of Beauford Delaney: oils on canvas, watercolors, colored inks or mixed technique on paper, all coming from private collections in Paris.
Beauford lived in Paris from 1953 to 1979, the year of his death. For twenty years, his work played on two registers. First what was called in France "lyrical abstraction" and in the US "abstract expressionism". On the other hand, he did portraits in a very personal fashion. It is as if he had abandoned all conventions, with a desire, for each canvas, to paint as he had never done it before. I see no other equivalent, with the possible exception of “Le Douanier” Rousseau’s portraits that can be seen right now (April 2016) in a beautiful exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay.
In Beauford’s portraits there is something that might have more to do with the empathy felt by the painter for his model than with pictorial technique. An effort, when he faces the man or the woman he is looking at, to find another resemblance, deeper than the photographic one. A clean sweep of all conventions, including perspective, in order to find, when looking at a person, which colors define him or her best.
1969, Oil on canvas
65 x 54 cm; 25.6" x 21.2"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
In the portrait of Robert Tricoire, the diaphanous quality of the skin and the transparency of the eyes contrast with the bottle-green background and the navy blue sweater. In the portrait of Mrs. Du Closel, Beauford’s benefactress who, in his final years, put at his disposal a studio before he was hospitalized, what strikes most is a lightness that leads almost to evanescence.
1970, Oil on canvas
130 x 99 cm; 51.2" x 38.9"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
One of the most impressive paintings in this exhibition was a relatively large, 130 x 99 cm oil on canvas portrait of Mrs Vassili Pikoula, dated 1970. Propped in a chair, Pikoula seems to fix the viewer with the dignity of an empress. She stands out as much as she vanishes in an abstract background of great finesse and subtlety. The pattern of her dress … the drapery of a curtain behind it … everything is suggested, nothing too heavily stated.
1972, Watercolor
40.6 x 31.7 cm; 15.9" x 12.5"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Also reproduced in the catalog is a watercolor from 1972 depicting a young “Man in African Dress” to whom Beauford conferred the same regal quality. Seated cross-legged on his stool in a large yellow robe, his face irradiates the same pink as the light passing through the doorway. Yes, you read well, this is a young Black man - recognizable by the color of his arms and an ankle not covered by the dress - but whose face is illuminated by a pink light. And the floor is also invaded by the same flood of light. The color pink reflects the softness and tenderness with which Beauford intended to surround his model.
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Columbia Global Centers | Paris, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) brought you this exhibition of Beauford Delaney works at Reid Hall in Paris.
We're creating a documentary of the exhibition that will encourage U.S. and European museums to host it!
To contribute to the funding for this effort, click HERE.
Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color: A Successful Exhibition!
After a hugely successful run (February 4-29) and a two-week extension (March 1-15) at Columbia Global Centers | Paris at Reid Hall, the Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition has come to an end.
In previous blog posts about the exhibition, I've brought you information about the prelude (including the University of Arizona Augmented Reality project) and the catalog, as well as the opening, the round table discussion, and the Global Educator Program that comprised much of the event schedule.
Today, I'm sharing photos of the celebration of Beauford's life in Paris, the screening of the documentary Paris Noir, and some of the guided visits conducted by my co-curator, Laurence Choko, and me.
Celebration of Beauford's Life in Paris
(Sunday, 21 February 2016)
Attendees discussing the life of Beauford Delaney
© Discover Paris!
Monique Y. Wells giving presentation
© Discover Paris!
Geneviève Brouard points out friends in a photo
of an event that took place at the
American Cultural Center in 1969
© Discover Paris!
Making comments about and sharing memories of Beauford
Top (left to right):
Bob Tomlinson, Zuka Mitelberg, Arnaud du Closel
Bottom (left to right):
Jean-Loup Msika, Velma Bury, Marc Albert-Levin
© Discover Paris!
Screening of Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light
(Thursday, 25 February 2016)
Monique welcomes the crowd to the screening
© Discover Paris!
Julia Browne talks about the documentary
© Discover Paris!
Samuel Légitimus (left) and members of the
James Baldwin Collective
at the screening
© Discover Paris!
Guided Visits to Exhibition
(multiple dates throughout the exhibition)
Participants for February 27 visit
© Discover Paris!
Presentation of the "inks on paper" abstract
© J Rêve International
Laurence Choko talks about Beauford's contribution
to French art history
© Discover Paris!
Students admire a Delaney painting
© Discover Paris!
Viewing the works in the Salle de Conferences
© Discover Paris!
Talking about The Eye
© Discover Paris!
Several museums have expressed interest in hosting the exhibition. This is an exciting development! Les Amis will be studying these inquiries over the next few weeks.
Now that the exhibition has ended, I will take a break from blogging. Look for a new post in April 2016.
************
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Columbia Global Centers | Paris, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) have brought you this exhibition of Beauford Delaney works at Reid Hall in Paris.
WE STILL REQUIRE FUNDING FOR THE SHOW!
To contribute, click HERE.
In previous blog posts about the exhibition, I've brought you information about the prelude (including the University of Arizona Augmented Reality project) and the catalog, as well as the opening, the round table discussion, and the Global Educator Program that comprised much of the event schedule.
Today, I'm sharing photos of the celebration of Beauford's life in Paris, the screening of the documentary Paris Noir, and some of the guided visits conducted by my co-curator, Laurence Choko, and me.
Celebration of Beauford's Life in Paris
(Sunday, 21 February 2016)
© Discover Paris!
© Discover Paris!
of an event that took place at the
American Cultural Center in 1969
© Discover Paris!
Top (left to right):
Bob Tomlinson, Zuka Mitelberg, Arnaud du Closel
Bottom (left to right):
Jean-Loup Msika, Velma Bury, Marc Albert-Levin
© Discover Paris!
Screening of Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light
(Thursday, 25 February 2016)
© Discover Paris!
© Discover Paris!
James Baldwin Collective
at the screening
© Discover Paris!
Guided Visits to Exhibition
(multiple dates throughout the exhibition)
© Discover Paris!
© J Rêve International
to French art history
© Discover Paris!
© Discover Paris!
© Discover Paris!
© Discover Paris!
Several museums have expressed interest in hosting the exhibition. This is an exciting development! Les Amis will be studying these inquiries over the next few weeks.
Now that the exhibition has ended, I will take a break from blogging. Look for a new post in April 2016.
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Columbia Global Centers | Paris, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) have brought you this exhibition of Beauford Delaney works at Reid Hall in Paris.
WE STILL REQUIRE FUNDING FOR THE SHOW!
To contribute, click HERE.
Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color: The Global Educator Program
The Global Educator Program (GEP), created by J Rêve International in partnership with the Wells International Foundation and Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, was an integral part of the Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition.
J Rêve founder Jacqueline Cofield's vision for the Paris program spurred a number of extraordinary encounters between K-12 teachers from the U.S. and organizations in France.
Jacqueline Cofield at Hôtel Le M
© J Rêve International
The group kicked off an intensive week of activities with an orientation at Hôtel Le M followed by Discover Paris' commemorative walking tour entitled Beauford Delaney's Montparnasse:
Orientation room at Hôtel Le M
© J Rêve International
One of the stops on the Beauford Delaney walking tour - Reid Hall
© J Rêve International
Program participants enjoyed extensive interaction with the Fulbright Commission:
J Rêve International Global Educator Program participants at the Fulbright Commission with
Director Arnaud Roujou de Boubée (4th from right) and
Danielle Fortier Berger, Executive Director of the
Mona Bismarck Center in Paris and former Fulbright fellow
(far right)
© J Rêve International
UNESCO:
J Rêve International Global Educator Program participants at UNESCO with
U.S Science Officer Dillon Green (4th person from right)
© J Rêve International
and
a suburban community of artists at the Villa Mais d'Ici, organized by U.S. artist/educator Cheryl Ann Bolden:
Cheryl Ann Bolden's studio at Villa Mais d'Ici
© J Rêve International
In addition, two GEP events were held at Columbia Global Centers at Reid Hall, taking full advantage of the ambiance exuded by Beauford's art:
A meet-and-greet between the GEP participants and educators from Paris and London institutions
Monique presents the strategic focus areas for the Wells International Foundation
to Global Educator Program participants
© J Rêve International
Global Educator Program participant
Margaret Sergent, Second Vice President of the
Rochester Teachers Association in Rochester, NY
and Monique
© J Rêve International
and a panel discussion on STEAM education and Multiple Intelligences.
STEAM and Multiple Intelligences Panel
From left to right: Jacqueline Cofield (moderator), artist Ealy Mays,
GEP Fellow Margaret Sergent, GEP Fellow Malikka Karteron;
craniofacial surgeon Roman Hossein Khonsari
© J Rêve International
During the GEP meet-and-greet, participants were able to talk with Chantal Pinkham, Education Community Projects Lead at Blippar, about the Augmented Reality platform that Blippar provides for teachers and students.
Later, they experienced the technology firsthand as they "blipped" paintings from the exhibition and accessed videos produced by students from the University of Arizona only a couple of weeks prior to their arrival in Paris.
GEP Fellow Louis King "blipping" The Eye
© J Rêve International
J Rêve International's first Global Educator Program was held in Senegal in 2015 in partnership with the Sengalese-American bilingual Blaise Diagne high school and Give1Project. The next program will take place in Ghana in partnership with NYU Africa House in April 2016.
For a full recap of the Global Educator Program's activities, click here.
The Wells International Foundation and Les Amis de Beauford Delaney look forward to future collaborations with J Rêve International and its innovative founder!
************
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Columbia Global Centers | Paris, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are bringing you this exhibition of Beauford Delaney works at Reid Hall in Paris.
WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!
To contribute to the show, click HERE.
To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.
J Rêve founder Jacqueline Cofield's vision for the Paris program spurred a number of extraordinary encounters between K-12 teachers from the U.S. and organizations in France.
© J Rêve International
The group kicked off an intensive week of activities with an orientation at Hôtel Le M followed by Discover Paris' commemorative walking tour entitled Beauford Delaney's Montparnasse:
© J Rêve International
© J Rêve International
Program participants enjoyed extensive interaction with the Fulbright Commission:
Director Arnaud Roujou de Boubée (4th from right) and
Danielle Fortier Berger, Executive Director of the
Mona Bismarck Center in Paris and former Fulbright fellow
(far right)
© J Rêve International
UNESCO:
U.S Science Officer Dillon Green (4th person from right)
© J Rêve International
and
a suburban community of artists at the Villa Mais d'Ici, organized by U.S. artist/educator Cheryl Ann Bolden:
© J Rêve International
In addition, two GEP events were held at Columbia Global Centers at Reid Hall, taking full advantage of the ambiance exuded by Beauford's art:
A meet-and-greet between the GEP participants and educators from Paris and London institutions
to Global Educator Program participants
© J Rêve International
Margaret Sergent, Second Vice President of the
Rochester Teachers Association in Rochester, NY
and Monique
© J Rêve International
and a panel discussion on STEAM education and Multiple Intelligences.
From left to right: Jacqueline Cofield (moderator), artist Ealy Mays,
GEP Fellow Margaret Sergent, GEP Fellow Malikka Karteron;
craniofacial surgeon Roman Hossein Khonsari
© J Rêve International
During the GEP meet-and-greet, participants were able to talk with Chantal Pinkham, Education Community Projects Lead at Blippar, about the Augmented Reality platform that Blippar provides for teachers and students.
Later, they experienced the technology firsthand as they "blipped" paintings from the exhibition and accessed videos produced by students from the University of Arizona only a couple of weeks prior to their arrival in Paris.
© J Rêve International
J Rêve International's first Global Educator Program was held in Senegal in 2015 in partnership with the Sengalese-American bilingual Blaise Diagne high school and Give1Project. The next program will take place in Ghana in partnership with NYU Africa House in April 2016.
For a full recap of the Global Educator Program's activities, click here.
The Wells International Foundation and Les Amis de Beauford Delaney look forward to future collaborations with J Rêve International and its innovative founder!
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Columbia Global Centers | Paris, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are bringing you this exhibition of Beauford Delaney works at Reid Hall in Paris.
WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!
To contribute to the show, click HERE.
To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.
Beauford on Both Sides of the Atlantic
Perhaps for the first time, two major exhibitions of Beauford's work are taking place simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic!
The first opened on February 3rd at Columbia Global Centers, Reid Hall, in Paris.
Beauford Delaney:
Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color
Due to the success of the opening reception, the exhibition, and associated events at Columbia Global Centers | Paris, Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color has been extended through March 15 2016!
Here are some of the works on view:
Untitled
1959, Oil on canvas
144.5 x 95.5 cm; 56.9" x 37.6"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Portrait of Robert Tricoire
1969, Oil on canvas
65 x 54 cm; 25.6" x 21.2"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Untitled
1956, Inks on paper
45 x 33.5 cm; 17.7" x 13.2"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The works presented above and seventeen additional works in the exhibition have been incorporated into the University of Arizona's Augmented Reality project. Video augments of these paintings and works on paper are accessible through the exhibition catalog by using the Blippar app.
Free visits to see the exhibition are scheduled for the following dates:
Registration is required. To register, send e-mail to .
For more information about the show, click on the links below:
Opening reception
Round Table
Beauford Delaney commemorative walking tour
The second exhibition is taking place at The Art Show – ADAA in New York.
In Focus: Beauford Delaney
The Michael Rosenfeld Gallery is featuring fifteen of Beauford's works at The Art Show - ADAA from March 2-6, 2016. Among them are:
Untitled, 1951
Oil on canvas
40 1/2" x 60 1/4"; 102.9 x 153 cm
signed and dated
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
Reve, c.1959
Oil on canvas
39 3/8" x 32"; 100 x 81.3 cm
signed
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
Beauford's works are featured in an Artsy editorial that was published about this show on March 2, 2016.
The Art Show is being held at the Park Avenue Armory at 67th Street in New York City. Hours are as follows:
Saturday, March 5 - 12-7 PM
Sunday, March 6 - 12-5 PM
************
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Columbia Global Centers | Paris, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are bringing you this exhibition of Beauford Delaney works at Reid Hall in Paris.
WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!
To contribute to the show, click HERE.
To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.
The first opened on February 3rd at Columbia Global Centers, Reid Hall, in Paris.
Beauford Delaney:
Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color
Due to the success of the opening reception, the exhibition, and associated events at Columbia Global Centers | Paris, Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color has been extended through March 15 2016!
Here are some of the works on view:
1959, Oil on canvas
144.5 x 95.5 cm; 56.9" x 37.6"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
1969, Oil on canvas
65 x 54 cm; 25.6" x 21.2"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
1956, Inks on paper
45 x 33.5 cm; 17.7" x 13.2"
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The works presented above and seventeen additional works in the exhibition have been incorporated into the University of Arizona's Augmented Reality project. Video augments of these paintings and works on paper are accessible through the exhibition catalog by using the Blippar app.
Free visits to see the exhibition are scheduled for the following dates:
- Tuesday, March 8 at 10:30 AM
- Thursday, March 10 at 11 AM
- Monday, March 14 at 3:30 PM
Registration is required. To register, send e-mail to .
For more information about the show, click on the links below:
Opening reception
Round Table
Beauford Delaney commemorative walking tour
The second exhibition is taking place at The Art Show – ADAA in New York.
In Focus: Beauford Delaney
The Michael Rosenfeld Gallery is featuring fifteen of Beauford's works at The Art Show - ADAA from March 2-6, 2016. Among them are:
Oil on canvas
40 1/2" x 60 1/4"; 102.9 x 153 cm
signed and dated
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
Oil on canvas
39 3/8" x 32"; 100 x 81.3 cm
signed
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
Beauford's works are featured in an Artsy editorial that was published about this show on March 2, 2016.
The Art Show is being held at the Park Avenue Armory at 67th Street in New York City. Hours are as follows:
Saturday, March 5 - 12-7 PM
Sunday, March 6 - 12-5 PM
Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, Columbia Global Centers | Paris, and the Wells International Foundation (WIF) are bringing you this exhibition of Beauford Delaney works at Reid Hall in Paris.
WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT!
To contribute to the show, click HERE.
To sign-up to receive the latest behind-the-scenes news about the show, click HERE.