Judd Tully on Beauford's Studio Museum Retrospective
A few months after Beauford's death (March 26, 1979), art critic and journalist Judd Tully wrote an exposé of sorts regarding the Studio Museum of Harlem's retrospective show of Beauford's work and the disposition of his estate.
Tully says that steps were taken to eliminate French bureaucratic obstacles and settle debts so the show could take place, but he does not specifically indicate who took these steps. He indicates that Exxon Corporation and the National Endowment of the Arts funded the Studio Museum exhibition and that the tutelle responsible for handling Beauford's affairs was dissolved.
What follows is biographical information admixed with statements that various artist acquaintances made about Beauford and his work during his lifetime.
Near the end of the article, Tully states that "...Beauford Delaney remains a tantalizing enigma to the all too color-conscious art historians. He has eluded history for the moment."
Forty-two years later, fueled by the work launched by Les Amis de Beauford Delaney in 2009, history is "catching up."
Read the entire article here: https://juddtully.net/reviews/beauford-delaney/
Beauford at the Galerie Prisme - 6, rue Monsieur le Prince
The New York Times recently published an article entitled "Beyond Abstract Expressionism: MoMA Rethinks the Art of the 1950s," in which it featured a stunning pastel Beauford Delaney abstract.
(c. 1955) Pastel on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
It reminded me of a similar pastel abstract dated 1956, an image of which I included in an article I published a couple of years ago about Beauford's first solo exhibition in Paris. That show was held at the Galerie Prisme, which was located at 6, rue Monsieur le Prince in the 6th arrondissement.
I have not yet been able to find images of the façade at the time the gallery occupied the premises, but I'm pleased to share photos of what it looks like today.
©Entrée to Black Paris
©Entrée to Black Paris
©Entrée to Black Paris
It's possible that the gallery was located in the storefront space to the left or the right of the entrance.
It may even have been located in a courtyard behind the (now) blue double doors that serve as the entrance to this address.
Read the article about Beauford's Galerie Prisme show here: Beauford at the Galerie Prisme
Beauford on Google Arts and Culture
Google Arts & Culture is a non-profit initiative whose mission is to preserve and bring the world’s art and culture online so it’s accessible to anyone, anywhere. They work with cultural institutions and artists around the world to help them digitize, manage and publish their collections online, all for free.
The site has dedicated a section to Beauford. It presents eight works that represent a wide range of works - from figurative to abstract, from landscapes to portraits - that he created during his New York and Paris years.
(1946) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The text presented on these pages is scant, and for some works, only the details about the media, year of creation, and location are provided.
Still, it is worth visiting the site as a reminder of the breadth of Beauford's artistic genius!
Click HERE to see the works.
PIASA to Auction Magnificent Portrait by Beauford
Portrait of Vassiliki Pikoula was the largest portrait displayed in the 2016 Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition in Paris. You can see it in the upper left corner of the image below.
The portrait is up for auction at PIASA's Afrique + Art moderne et contemporaine (Africa + Modern and Contemporary Art) sale on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
Vassiliki Pikoula
(1970) Oil on canvas
130 x 97 cm / 51 x 38 inches
Signed and dated, lower right
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Screenshot of photo from PIASA catalog - © Xavier Defaix
The auction catalog presents a beautiful narrative that describes the night Darthea Speyer hosted a reception for her gallery's 1973 solo exhibition of Beauford's work. Among the attendees was the celebrated jazz saxophonist, Ornette Coleman.
Pikoula, the Greek artist who was the subject of the portrait, was also in attendance that evening.
The estimated sale price for this work is 150,000 - 200,000 euros.
For information about the auction, call +33 (0)1 53 34 10 10 or send email to contact@piasa.fr.
Beauford Delaney Research Grant - Part 2
1953 - Carl Van Vechten
Last week, I posted Part 1 of my interview with France Nerlich, Director of Studies and Research Department at the Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA). INHA is one of the collaborative partners for the new Beauford Delaney Research Grant - the Bourse Beauford Delaney - that was announced to the world on April 21, 2021.
The grant funds travel and other expenses related to research projects on African-American art undertaken by France-based academics and scholars. The awardee can travel to the United States to work in archives, museums, libraries and possibly to meet with artists.
Here's Part 2 of the interview.
Les Amis: Was Beauford Delaney the only artist whose name was considered for the grant?
FN: As Eric de Chassey is a scholar whose specialty is post-WWII US art, Delaney's name naturally came to his mind while we were thinking of the name we would like to give to the grant.
Les Amis: What knowledge or experience does the team that conceived of the grant have regarding Beauford's work?
FN: Though de Chassey hadn't written much on Delaney, he had seen many of Delaney's works in U.S. museums, galleries and private collections. He knew the Delaney bibliography, had spent time speaking about him with Sue Canterbury when she was preparing her exhibition for the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. He deeply admires the artist, who still deserves to be better known - especially in France, where he chose to live. As the personality and work of Beauford Delaney seem to perfectly represent/encapsulate the aim of the grant, the team accepted de Chassey's proposal with enthusiasm.
Les Amis: How was the jury selected?
FN: For the composition of the jury, we wanted to solicit French and American experts, including specialists in African-American art. The INHA team and the Cultural Services team made several proposals for members. We chose according to the candidates' approaches and fields to guarantee a true diversity of views within the jury.
We are very grateful to our two qualified personalities for agreeing, almost at the drop of a hat, to join our jury, Anne Lafont, professor at the Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales (Paris) and Richard J. Powell, John Spencer Bassett Distinguished Professor of Art and Art History at Duke University.
Now, we are all very much looking forward to reading the applications and to announce the winner in early June in conjunction with a special occasion -- the 10th edition of our international Festival de l’histoire de l’art (Art History Festival) that takes places yearly in Fontainebleau!
Announcements about the Beauford Delaney Research Grant are posted online in English and in French.
Beauford Delaney Research Grant - Part 1
Beauford Delaney
1953 - Carl Van Vechten
I learned about the Beauford Delaney Research Grant - the Bourse Beauford Delaney - on April 21, 2021.
Announcements about this $20,000 award are posted online in English and in French.
The grant funds travel and other expenses related to research projects on African-American art undertaken by France-based academics and scholars. The awardee can travel to the United States to work in archives, museums, libraries and possibly to meet with artists.
While Beauford's name is attached to the grant, the awardee is not obligated to research his work.
The 2021 award is intended for postdoctoral researchers, while the 2022 award will be offered to master's- and doctorate-level researchers in training. In all cases, it is expected that the fellowship will produce a tangible result such as a book, article, conference, or exhibit. These results will be made available to the public, enriching the field of art history and heightening the profile of work by African-American artists.
A few days ago, I received a thoughtful email from France Nerlich, Director of Studies and Research Department at the Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA). (INHA is one of the collaborative partners for the grant.) Nerwith wanted to inform me about the grant because of the work Les Amis does to increase awareness of Beauford's legacy. She kindly consented to grant me an interview, the first part of which I'm sharing below.
Les Amis: Please describe the "broader initiative to promote African-American artists in France" of which the Beauford Delaney research grant is a part.
FN: Thanks to the support of the Ford Foundation, the Étant donnés Contemporary Art program* launched a new initiative in 2018 to promote the visibility of African-American artists in France via exhibitions, residencies, and research trips. The initiative aimed to foster dialogue between French and American art and culture professionals around the contemporary African-American art scene. Twelve French curators and institutional directors were invited to visit New York and Chicago for an exploratory trip to learn more about this art scene via studio visits and meetings with professionals, with the goal of bringing exhibitions of contemporary work by African-American artists to major French institutions and inviting African American to become artists in residence at French institutions.
Five projects have resulted from this initial exchange trip so far, including in-person and online exhibitions as well as residencies. More is to come.
Les Amis: How long did it take for the project to come to fruition?
FN: In 2020, the above mentioned initiative was expanded to promote art historical scholarship in France on work by African American artists. This proposal immediately met with the approval of INHA director Eric de Chassey in Paris, who has supported decentralized, inclusive, and resolutely transnational art history since his arrival at the institute in 2016.
Since its creation in the early 2000s, INHA has proposed fundamental support for a globalized approach to art history that is attentive to the societal stakes of art history and to the epistemological stakes of a discipline that pays attention to questions of representation and constructions of identity. Since 2016, in-depth reflections have been undertaken to put the structuring categories within the institution into perspective and to open them up completely to a non-Eurocentric art history.
Les Amis: Whose idea was it to create this grant?
FN: The project for this fellowship began to be discussed during the fall of 2020. The initiative came from Gaëtan Bruel, Cultural Counselor at the French Embassy in the United States, and Anne-Claire Duprat, who leads the construction of all the actions with the Ford Foundation within the “Etant donnés” program.
Come back to the blog next week to read Part 2 of this interview.
*Étant donnés Contemporary Art is a program operated by Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the U.S. in partnership with FACE Foundation (French American Cultural Exchange). It aims to strengthen ties between France and the U.S. in the field of contemporary art by fostering active collaboration and encouraging long-lasting partnerships between French visual artists, curators, and collectives and American curators and cultural institutions.
In the past 27 years, Étant donnés has developed an international reputation by allocating over $3 million to fund more than 300 projects and 30 curators. The program funds grants to American nonprofit institutions to organize exhibitions featuring French artists, curatorial fellowships assisting American curators, and a residency program supporting French artists seeking to develop specific projects with American partners.
Results of April 2021 Swann Auction Galleries African American Art Sale
Untitled (African Figure) sold for $125,000, including buyer's premium*.
Untitled (African Figure)
(1968) Oil on cotton canvas
610x502 mm; 24x19 3/4 inches
Signed and dated in oil, lower left
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Untitled (Tent Interior) sold for $137,000 (including buyer's premium), far exceeding the estimated sale price of $30,000 to $40,000.
For more information about the April 22, 2021 African American Art auction, click HERE.
*The buyer's premium is 25% of the hammer price, up to and including $100,000; 20% of the hammer price above $100,000 up to and including $1,000,000; 12% of the hammer price after $1,000,000.
Two Beauford Delaney Works at Swann Auction Galleries' African Art Sale
Untitled (African Figure) was created when Beauford lived at his rue Vercingétorix studio. It comes from the original collection of James and Gloria Joyce, whom James Baldwin introduced to Beauford in July 1958. The Joyces would go on to commission several paintings from Beauford, including a portrait of James Joyce.
Untitled (African Figure)
(1968) Oil on cotton canvas
610x502 mm; 24x19 3/4 inches
Signed and dated in oil, lower left
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The estimated sale price of this work, which has been assigned Lot Number 67, is $120,000 - $180,000.
The mirror image of Untitled (African Figure), a multi-hued oil monoprint on paper, was displayed by the Knoxville Museum of Art during its Through the Unusual Door exhibition in 2020.
(circa 1968) Oil monoprint on paper
Knoxville Museum of Art, 2018 Beauford Delaney Purchase
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Photo © Les Amis de Beauford Delaney
Beauford in the News
In today's post, I'm presenting three announcements about Beauford that I recently found online.
SFMOMA announces major gift from the Pamela J. Joyner and Alfred J. Giuffrida Collection
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art announced a major gift of 31 paintings, sculptures and drawings by 20 American artists from the Pamela J. Joyner and Alfred J. Giuffrida Collection—celebrated for its intergenerational holdings of abstract art of the African diaspora. The addition of important historical works by Elizabeth Catlett, Beauford Delaney, Norman Lewis and Richard Mayhew, among many others, has inspired a reexamination of SFMOMA’s permanent collection and is having a transformative impact on its galleries.
(1970) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Read the entire article HERE.
Beauford Delaney’s Metamorphosis into Freedom
ASHEVILLE, NC - Featuring more than 40 paintings and works on paper, Beauford Delaney’s Metamorphosis into Freedom examines Beauford's career within the context of his 38-year friendship with writer James Baldwin.
(1950) Pastel on paper
Knoxville Museum of Art, 2017 purchase with funds provided by
the Rachael Patterson Young Art Acquisition Reserve
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image by Bruce Cole
Read about the exhibition and associated programming HERE.
Swann Auction Galleries African American Art Sale
NEW YORK, NY - Untitled (African Figure) is one of two Beauford Delaney works up for auction during Swann Auction Galleries' upcoming African American Art Sale.
(1968) Oil on cotton canvas
Signed and dated in oil, lower left
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Read about this painting HERE.
Springtime
Spring has definitely sprung in Paris!
In today's blog, I'm posting a few abstract paintings by Beauford that I think perfectly represent the season.
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Watercolor on paper
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1968) Gouache on paper
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
If you celebrate Easter, I wish you a happy one!
Les Amis Celebrates Women's History Month - Part 4
For the last installment of the Les Amis Celebrates Women's History Month series, I'm featuring images of three sketches that Beauford created for Unsung Americans Sung, the book edited by Beauford's friend, W. C. Handy.
Phillis Wheatley
Phyllis Wheatley
Pencil sketch
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Beauford's sketch was undoubtedly inspired by the 1773 engraving that graced the cover of Phillis (Phyllis) Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.
Portrait of Phillis Wheatley
Attributed to Scipio Moorhead
Image in Public Domain
Wheatley was the first black woman to publish a book of poetry in the U.S. Read about her here.
Sissieretta Jones
Pencil sketch
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
c. 1911 Addison N. Scurlock
H. Lawrence Freeman Collection
Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Columbia University
Fair Use Claim
Florence Mills
Pencil sketch
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
1927 James Van Der Zee
Vintage gelatin silver print
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Fair Use Claim
Les Amis Celebrates Women's History Month - Part 3
During this first celebration of Women's History Month on the Les Amis blog, I've brought you images of Beauford's mom, Delia, and images of two renowned singers whose images Beauford captured on canvas.
Today, I am sharing images of two little known works in which Beauford portrayed an icon of African-American and women's history: Harriet Tubman.
The first work is a pencil sketch that appears in a book called Unsung Americans Sung, which was edited by W. C. Handy and published in 1944.
Harriet TubmanPencil sketch
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
It was likely inspired by the photograph shown below:
Harriet Tubman (1911), full-length portrait,
seated in chair, facing front,
probably at her home in Auburn, New York
Source: Library of Congress
Public Domain
The second is a work on paper, most recently shown at the Transcending Race and Time exhibition at the University of Tennessee (UT) Downtown Gallery in Knoxville.
Portrait of Harriet Tubman at the UT Downtown Gallery
(1953) Mixed Media on Paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
A black and white image of this work appears in David Leeming's biography entitled Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney.
In Amazing Grace, the portrait is (mis)labeled as Delia Delaney, as shown in the image above.
The reasoning behind the assertion that the label in the book is incorrect is as follows:
1) The Beauford Delaney estate has recorded the name of the work as Harriet Tubman.
2) The person in the work looks very much like Harriet Tubman and not very much like Delia Delaney.
Horatio Seymour Squyer
National Portrait Gallery
Public Domain
Harriet Tubman's birth year has never definitively been established (c. 1820), but we know that she died on March 10, 1913.
To learn more about this famous abolitionist and women's suffragist, click HERE.
Les Amis Celebrates Women's History Month - Part 2
Beauford portrayed two legendary female singers on canvas: Marian Anderson and Ella Fitzgerald.
(1965) Oil on canvas
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund for American Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1968) Oil on canvas
Permanent collection of the SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah
Gift of Dr. Walter O. and Mrs. Linda J. Evans
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The Anderson portrait inspired British opera singer Peter Brathwaite to create his own version of it as part of the 2020 Getty Museum Challenge to use everyday items at home to recreate a work of art. He launched his own project called "Rediscovering Black Portraiture" and recreated 93 works with amazing results.
Brathwaite poses in all his renditions of classic portraits of black people, from Mansa Musa to Barack Obama. Women were not off limits - he recreated portraits of the Queen of Sheba, the Virgin of Guadelupe, and other women in addition to Marian Anderson.
Brathwaite painted a raincoat to reproduce Anderson's jacket and painted his face to resemble the hue of Anderson's skin in Beauford's portrait. (No mention is made of whether he was aware of Beauford's raincoat painting, which is held by the Minneapolis Institute of Art.)
He created an 8-part tweet from the information posted about the reproduction on his Website.
To see the diptych of the photo of Brathwaite as Marian Anderson and the image of Beauford's portrait of her, click HERE.
Les Amis Celebrates Women's History Month - Part 1
March is Women's History Month and International Women's Day will be celebrated in just two days.
This year, Les Amis is celebrating Women's History Month by spotlighting Beauford's paintings of various women.
Beauford's mother, Delia, was by far the most important woman in Beauford's life. I featured her in two Les Amis blog posts:
Delia Delaney - Beauford's Beloved Mother
Happy Birthday, Delia Delaney!
and have published images of Beauford's portraits of her many times.
My favorite is the 1933 pastel that is held by the Knoxville Museum of Art.
Portrait of Delia Delaney
(1933) Pastel on paper
Knoxville Museum of Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
In Paris, several women supported Beauford with their friendship and financial resources.
Solange du Closel was a staunch patron and supporter, going so far as to provide Beauford with his living space / studio from 1962 to 1975.
Mme du Closel No. 4
(1972) Pastel on paper
G. R. N'Namdi Gallery
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Darthea Speyer became a primary conduit for the sale of Beauford's work after the two met in 1956.
Darthea
(1965) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Galerie Darthea Speyer
Geneviève Brouard was a friend and patron who frequently invited Beauford to her home to dine.
Portrait of Geneviève Brouard
(1964) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image by Discover Paris!
Beauford's Studio - Scenes from "Meeting the Man"
I was thrilled to learn that the recently restored short documentary called "Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris" contains footage shot inside Beauford's rue Vercingétorix studio.
As the camera pans around the small room, you see Baldwin, Beauford, Baldwin's brother David, and several young people sitting or lounging on what appears to be a bed.
The chair that Baldwin sits in is draped in white cloth, which is characteristic of Beauford's habit of covering surfaces in his living space with white to increase the light available for painting.
The walls are covered with Beauford's paintings.
An additional work, which leans against a wall to Baldwin's left, presents two figurative beings, one of which has a luminous eye that reminds me of the eye in the image of the painting shown below.
(1965) Oil on canvas
Private Collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
View two <2-minute clips from the 27-minute documentary at the links below.
Lives in Art: Discussions on Beauford and Joseph Delaney
Top row: Jared Sprecher (L) and Mary Campbell (R)
Bottom: Fred Moffatt
UT Associate Professor Mary Campbell discusses Beauford, Professor Emeritus Fred Moffatt discusses Joseph, and Professor Jared Sprecher discusses both brothers.
Campbell gives a fascinating presentation about Beauford, including a detailed discussion of the derivation of the name of Beauford's first portrait of James Baldwin - Dark Rapture.
Dark Rapture
(1941) Oil on masonite
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Watch the entire discussion here:
https://vimeo.com/513051130
Beauford's Black Mentor
If you know Beauford's life story, chances are great that you've heard about Lloyd Branson, the white Confederate apologist who put aside his prejudices to give a teenaged Beauford art lessons and encourage him to undertake formal study in Boston.
You may not have heard of another man - a black man - who also significantly influenced young Beauford's life.
His name was Charles Cansler.
Fair use claim
BlackPast.org reports that Charles Warner Cansler (1871-1953) was a railway mail clerk, lawyer, educator, and noted mathematician, who spent most of his life working to better the lives of African Americans in Eastern Tennessee by way of education. He began teaching at Austin High School, the city's only high school for black students, in 1900, and became principal there in 1911.
Austin High School moved to a new location and was re-baptised Knoxville Colored High School in 1916. Cansler was principal there as well.
Beauford entered high school at the age of fourteen and was a pupil during Cansler's tenure as principal. Biographer David Leeming indicates that Cansler would invite Beauford to his home at that young age.
Cansler was accustomed to welcoming black celebrities such as classical singer Roland Hayes and writer/civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson into his home, and he would provide Beauford with letters of introduction to prominent members of Boston society when Beauford moved there in 1923.
Beauford went on to meet Hayes and Johnson in Boston. These and other acquaintances made because of Cansler's introductions (and those provided by members of Beauford's church) influenced Beauford's sociopolitical awareness and fed his love of and appreciation for classical music.
Beauford Showing in Two Southern "Villes"
Two southern cities are hosting exhibitions of Beauford's work this year.
In the aftermath of its solo exhibition entitled Beauford Delaney: Transcending Race and Time, the University of Tennessee (UT) Downtown Gallery is showing Beauford's work alongside that of his brother Joseph in the exhibition entitled The Delaney Brothers: Lives in Art. It will be the first time the two artists’ works are shown together in their hometown.
All of Beauford's works are on loan from his estate, while works by Joseph are from the permanent collection of the
Ewing Gallery of Art + Architecture. The show opened with a reception on Friday, February 5, as a part of Knoxville’s First Friday Art
Walk.
On February 15 at 7:30 PM, UTK professor Dr. Mary Campbell, professor emeritus Dr. Fred Moffatt, and professor of painting Jered Sprecher will come together for a panel discussion on the lives and art of the Delaney brothers. Register for the event HERE.
In anticipation of this scholarly exchange, Campbell said, “As the first exhibition to focus exclusively on the work of Beauford and Joseph Delaney, this show provides an invaluable opportunity to examine the connections and dissimilarities between the brothers’ art.”
The Delaney Brothers: Lives in Art will run through Saturday, February 27.
UT Downtown Gallery
106 S. Gay Street
Knoxville, TN 37902
Telephone: (865) 673-0802
Hours: Wednesday
through Friday - 11 AM to 6 PM, Saturday 10 AM – 3 PM
This spring, the Asheville Art Museum (AAM) will welcome Beauford Delaney’s Metamorphosis into Freedom.
This exhibition originated at the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) and will be on display in Asheville, North Carolina from April 2 through June 21, 2021. It further explores the relationship between Beauford and James Baldwin that KMA's 2020 exhibition, Through the Unusual Door, exquisitely probed.
(1944) Pastel on paper
Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The following description of the show comes from the February 2, 2021 article published by ArtFixDaily:
"Metamorphosis into Freedom includes more than 40 works by the painter that depict Baldwin, were inspired by or dedicated to Baldwin, illustrate key turning points in Delaney’s development as described in Baldwin’s writings, or document key places and events where their ongoing dialogue unfolded. The exhibition focuses special attention to a chapter in Delaney’s studio practice in which he intensified experiments with abstraction after moving to the Paris suburb of Clamart in late 1955."
AAM has scheduled two events in conjunction with the exhibition: a discussion of the Through the Unusual Door catalog with UTK professor Dr. Mary Campbell, and a discussion with Stephen Wicks, KMA’s Barbara W. & Bernard E. Bernstein Curator and organizing curator of Metamorphosis into Freedom. Both will be held in April 2021. For more information, click HERE.
Asheville Art Museum
2 South Pack Square
Asheville, NC 28801
Telephone: (828) 253-3227
Hours: Open daily 11 AM –6 PM; late-night Thursdays until 9 PM; closed Tuesdays.
Overall capacity is limited, and timed admission tickets are required to
ensure safe attendance.
Online ticketing is strongly encouraged;
limited walk-in tickets may be available.
Beauford in the Johnson Collection
Housed at the TJC Gallery in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the Johnson Collection consists of "1,200 objects with provenances that span the centuries and chronicle the cultural evolution of the American South." The gallery is currently hosting an exhibition called Excellence & Emancipation: African American Artists and the Harmon Foundation, in which two exquisite Beauford Delaney abstracts are hung.
I asked the gallery for an interview about the exhibition and Communications Specialist Anna Chandler graciously responded. Here's what she had to say:
Les Amis: How did TJC come to the decision to mount the Excellence & Emancipation exhibition?
TJC: The Johnson Collection exists to tell the story of Southern art, and we are always interested in following––and sharing––the unique threads that connect the artists in our collection.
The Harmon Foundation, which recognized excellence in eight fields of endeavor and became best known for its celebration of African American visual artists, profoundly impacted the careers of many artists represented in the Johnson Collection; its history offers a unique framework for curating an exhibition. Excellence & Emancipation allows us to showcase an array of artistic styles and techniques while also providing a rich historical context for our visiting public.
Les Amis: Are all the works shown in this exhibition part of the Johnson Collection?
TJC: Yes, all exhibitions at TJC Gallery, the Johnson Collection’s exhibition space in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, are curated entirely from the collection’s holdings.
Les Amis: Is the exhibition accessible virtually or only through in-person visits?
TJC: Guests can visit the exhibition in-person, and all of the works in Excellence & Emancipation, as well as biographies of each artist on view, are available at thejohnsoncollection.org.
TJC’s social media accounts (@thejohnsoncollection on Instagram, facebook.com/thejohnsoncollection on Facebook, and @johnsoncollect1 on Twitter) offer a closer look at the exhibition while it is on view.
Les Amis: Three Beauford Delaney works are part of the collection. How / why did you select Abstraction No. 9 and Untitled to be part of this exhibition?
TJC: Abstraction No. 9 and Untitled are strong examples of Delaney’s fully abstracted works, which are among his most celebrated. Additionally, Abstraction No. 9 demonstrates Delaney’s use of his signature color, yellow, which he called “the color of his sacred light.”
(circa 1963) Oil on canvas
51 1/4 x 38 1/8 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of the Johnson Collection, Spartanburg, South Carolina
Les Amis: Is Untitled signed? Dated?
TJC: It is signed in the upper right in pencil; it is not dated.
Oil on canvas
51 x 38 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of the Johnson Collection, Spartanburg, South Carolina
Les Amis: Do you have / can you share the text of the biographies published about Beauford in the 1933 and 1935 Harmon Foundation catalogs?
A PDF of the 1933 catalog is available online. Delaney’s biography in that text is as follows:
Beauford DeLaney, New York - Born 1905 in Tennessee; educated in public schools, and studied art at Massachusetts Normal Art, South Boston School of Art, and Copley Society. Works as telephone operator at Whitney Museum. Exhibited at Whitney Galleries in 1930; 135th Street Branch of N. Y. Public Library, 1930; 42nd Street Branch of N. Y. Public Library. 1932; Cooperative Art Market and Roxy Theatre, 1933. Work shown in Harmon Exhibit of 1933.*
Les Amis: Where/how did you acquire your Beauford Delaney works (private acquisitions, auction…)?
TJC: All three of our Beauford Delaney works were acquired directly from the artist’s estate.
Les Amis: Have you ever loaned any of Beauford’s works for exhibition?
TJC: TJC’s Beauford Delaney pieces have not been a part of any recent exhibitions.
TJC Gallery
154 West Main Street
Spartanburg, South Carolina 29306
Telephone: (864) 594-5834
Website: https://thejohnsoncollection.org/
*Though several images of works shown in the 1933 exhibition are provided in the catalog, Beauford's sole submission - a pastel called Minstrel - is not among them.
Exuberance is Beauty
One of Beauford's favorite writers was William Blake.
I find the following quote by Blake to be a perfect description for many of Beauford's abstract expressionist works:
"Exuberance is beauty."
Below are images of a few paintings and works on paper that I find to be exuberant and beautiful!
(1954-1956) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1962) Mixed media on paper
Signed, dated, and dedicated at bottom right
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1964) Gouache
Signed and dated at bottom right
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1957) Oil on canvas
© Discover Paris!
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1964) Oil on canvas
Collection of Elliot & Kimberly Perry
Image by Ashley Phifer
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator