Beauford at the American Hospital
The American Hospital of Paris is a private, non-profit hospital that is certified by the French Haute Autorité de Santé (French National Authority for Health). Established in 1906 in the western Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, it is the only civilian hospital outside the U.S. that is accredited by the Joint Commission, an organization that sets the highest standards for health care around the world.
Image courtesy of the American Hospital of Paris
The hospital was in the midst of significant expansion when Beauford was admitted for several tests in 1961. These confirmed severe liver and kidney problems diagnosed at the hospital in Athens, Greece where Beauford was treated after his suicide attempts in Patras earlier that year.
Beauford returned to the American Hospital in February 1970, where the clinic treated him for flu and heart palpatations. This was shortly after his Christmas 1969 visit to Knoxville.
During the fall of 1970, the hospital treated Beauford's dear friend and mentee, James Baldwin, presumably for hepatitis that had been diagnosed in Istanbul when Baldwin was there to direct the play Fortune and Men's Eyes.
Other friends and acquaintances of Beauford who were treated at the American Hospital include Tria French, a friend and literary agent of Baldwin, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage there.
Writer Richard Wright was treated at the hospital several times during his 14-year stay in Paris. His wife Ellen had an appendectomy there and his youngest daughter was born there. Led by Wright, the Franco-American Fellowship protested the establishment's discriminatory hiring policy regarding black people in 1951.
The American Hospital informed Les Amis that all medical records for patients treated there prior to 1989 have been destroyed in accordance with their policy to archive records for a period of 30 years. Therefore, the details of Beauford's diagnostic and treatment regimens at this institution are now permanently lost.
Friese Masters 2021 - 1st Solo Beauford Delaney Exhibition in the UK
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery (MRG) has organized the first solo exhibition of Beauford's work in the UK at Frieze Masters 2021 in Regent's Park, London. Laura Hoptman, Executive Director of The Drawing Center, curated the show, which is entitled Beauford Delaney An American in Paris.
This magnificent exhibition consists of nine works on canvas and twenty-two works on paper. It was previewed on October 13 and 14 and opened to the public on October 15. It will be on display through Sunday, October 17.
Tickets to Frieze Masters are limited and only available online. Purchase them here: Frieze Masters 2021.The online catalog opens with the following quote:
“[I have] worked terribly hard here in Europe and much has sundered and exploded, but now it coalesces with lava-like smoke and fluid color, sometimes a veritable flame, other times subdued essences… yes, I am again painting in my old feeling – tense, difficult, but compulsive, and I love it.”
—Beauford Delaney, 1964
Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney
(1963) Oil on canvas, signed
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1963) Watercolor and gouache on paper, signed
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
View the online catalog here (use "full screen" for maximum effect): Beauford Delaney An American in Paris
MRG is showing Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney concurrently in NYC. Read the NYTimes review of the show HERE.
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC is Special Advisor and Representative of the Estate of Beauford Delaney.
Beauford Delaney - A Musical Interlude
The jazz album entitled Soulful Noise, by Will Boyd, was released in September 2021.
Track 7 on this album is entitled "Beauford Delaney."
Four musicians worked on this instrumental - Will Boyd (woodwinds), Taber Gable (piano), Darryl Ford (bass), and Kenneth Brown (drums). It is available on multiple music streaming platforms, including Spotify and Deezer.
Brown hails from Beauford's hometown of Knoxville, TN - perhaps he suggested the name for the tune.
A Jazz Weekly review of the album by George W. Harris describes Boyd as "searing on 'Beauford Delaney'." Beauford was an avid jazz fan, and I can only imagine his delight at having such a vibrant composition named after him.
Take a few moments to insert this musical interlude into your day. Click here to enjoy! Beauford Delaney on Spotify
Bon Naissance Howard
While perusing the Internet for painterly descriptions of Beauford's Portrait of Howard Swanson, I found an online catalog that mentioned the portrait in the context of an African American Fine Art Auction.
(1967) Oil on canvas
Museum of Modern Art, NYC
Image courtesy of Levis Fine Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The catalog was created by Thom Pegg of Black Art Auction in support of the "inaugural sale of art by African Americans at the Toomey/Treadway Auction." I reported the sale of the Beauford Delaney abstract offered during this auction on December 5, 2015: Where to Find Beauford's Art: Art Basel Miami Beach and Treadway Toomey Auctions
The catalog presents beautiful photos of the framed work and the unframed work.
Oil on canvas
Image courtesy of Thom Pegg, Black Art Auction
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Oil on canvas
Image courtesy of Thom Pegg, Black Art Auction
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
In my 2015 article, I reported that the work was untitled. So I was intrigued to see that the catalog lists the title of the painting as Bon Naissance Howard. It provides a photo of the rear of the painting in support of this assignation, and mentions the horizontal lines and circles that Beauford drew above his name and what is taken as a message to Swanson as being reminiscent of a musical clef with notes. (Swanson was a classical composer who studied under Nadia Boulanger in Paris.)
Oil on canvas
Image courtesy of Thom Pegg, Black Art Auction
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The word "naissance," which means "birth," is misspelled in the inscription. The dedication likely indicates that Beauford created the painting as a birthday gift for Swanson, who was a close friend of Beauford. Read the Les Amis article about their relationship here: Beauford and Howard Swanson
Colin Gravois' Portrait
I have written about Beauford's portrait of Colin Gravois many times over the course of the life of the Les Amis blog. Until two weeks ago, I illustrated the posts with an image that appears in the 1978 catalog of Beauford's retrospective at the Studio Museum in Harlem.
Oil (undated)
80 x 64.5 cm
Photo of page from Beauford Delaney: A Retrospective catalog
Studio Museum in Harlem
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
In my most recent article, I posted an image which appears on the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery (MRG) Website as part of its promotion of the Be Your Wonderful Self exhibition of a selection of Beauford's portraits.
31 7/8" x 25 1/2" / 81.0 x 64.8 cm
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The difference in color is so striking that I began to wonder whether there might be two versions of this work. So, I contacted the gallery to ask some questions about this as well as additional differences in the information published in the Studio Museum catalog (name and dimensions of work) compared to the information published in the MRG fact sheet.
MRG commented on these difference as follows:
There is a Studio Museum exhibition label affixed to a stretcher bar on the verso of the painting, which lists the title Portrait of a Man in Green.
The images reproduced in the 1978 Studio Museum catalogue are generally quite inaccurate in color and quality compared to the appearance of the works in-person or with modern digital photography .... With the major advancements made in digital photography and printing over the past forty years, many of the works in our current show that were published by the Studio Museum look quite different in-person than as printed in the 1978 catalogue. Once acquired by Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, the painting was cleaned by a painting conservator.
There are often small discrepancies between published dimensions for an artwork and the dimensions we measure here at the gallery. The difference between these dimensions is minute.
The coloring of the MRG image closely corresponds to that of a photo I took of the portrait when I visited Knoxville in 2016.
Photo © Wells International Foundation
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Derek Spratley, Court Appointed Adminstrator of Beauford's estate, informed me that the portrait was not restored before it was sold. He indicated that MRG confirmed the identity of the subject of the portrait, notified the Estate, and made the name change, while acknowledging the prior name.
MRG also commented on the current name of the painting, as follows:
The title we have for the painting, Colin Gravois (aka Portrait of a Man in Green), names the sitter (Colin Gravois) followed by the title given to the painting for the Studio Museum retrospective in 1978. We include this previous title in our current title in order to make clear that this work is the same one that was exhibited in that show, as we have done with other works that have similar title differences. The artist did not title this painting.
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC is Special Advisor and Representative of the Estate of Beauford Delaney.
Watercolors by Beauford
In the March 14, 2015 article entitled "More on Knoxville Museum of Art Acquisition of Beauford Delaney Paintings," Barbara W. and Bernard E. Bernstein Curator Stephen Wicks talked about the large number of watercolors that were part of Beauford's estate.
I recently re-read this article and was inspired to have a look at images of the watercolors that I've published on the blog over the years. Here are a few of my favorites.
(1965) Watercolor on wove paper
Signed, dated and inscribed "avec amour" in ink.
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1961) Watercolor on paper
Signed and dated "Beauford Delaney 61. San Telmo Mallorca" in the bottom right corner.
© Christie's Images
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1962) Watercolor
Signed and dated at bottom left
Photo courtesy of ADER
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1963) Watercolor on thick wove paper
Signed, dated and inscribed "Clermont Seine" in blue ink at the lower left.
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1961) Watercolor on paper
© Christie's Images
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1963) Watercolor on wove paper
Signed and dated "July 19, 1963" in ink, lower right
Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney
On Wednesday, September 8, the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery (MRG) launched its third solo exhibition of Beauford Delaney paintings. Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney features 25 portraits and 7 abstract works with the intent to explore the passion with which Beauford undertook - and masterfully mingled - both forms of artistic expression.
(1962) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
According to MRG, the exhibition will present paintings that span thirty-one years of Beauford's career, "beginning with his masterful early portrait of a young James Baldwin, Dark Rapture (1941), and terminating with his penetrating 1972 depiction of Jean Genet."
(1941) Oil on masonite
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1972) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Many of the works in this show were displayed at the Studio Museum in Harlem retrospective organized by Richard Long in 1978. I'm particularly partial to the portrait of my friend, Colin Gravois.
The exhibition catalog will include new scholarship by Mary Campbell, Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, whose current book project examines the religious impulses at play in Beauford's paintings and drawings. It will also feature numerous images of previously unpublished archival materials and a section dedicated to "statements from such historical and contemporary voices as James Baldwin, Richard Long, Julie Mehretu, Georgia O’Keeffe and Amy Sherald, who describe the indelible impact Delaney’s work had on their practices and the broader evolution of 20th century modernism."
Be Your Wonderful Self will be on display through Saturday, November 13. To see installation views of the exhibition, click HERE.
If you're in New York and wish to visit the exhibition in person, MRG encourages you to reserve a time slot by clicking HERE. Note that you must show proof of vaccination along with a valid photo ID upon entry.
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery
100 Eleventh Avenue @ 19th
New York, NY 10011
T: 212.247.0082
F: 212.247.0402
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC is Special Advisor and Representative of the Estate of Beauford Delaney.
Groundbreaking for the Delaney Museum at Beck
On Monday, August 30, 2021, the Beck Cultural Exchange Center hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to announce the start of construction on the Delaney Museum at Beck, an international museum that will celebrate the history of the Delaney family.
Housed in the only remaining ancestral home of the Delaneys, Delaney Museum at Beck will
encompass galleries consisting of artifacts, historic photographs, and art that celebrates the legacy of the family that produced world-renown artists Beauford and Joseph Delaney.
Established in 1975, Beck is the only state-designated repository for African-American history and culture in East Tennessee. The cultural center acquired the the historic Delaney family home located at 1935 Dandridge Avenue in 2015 and announced plans to explore its restoration and possible adaptive reuse the following year.
Following the passing of patriarch Rev. John Samuel Delaney in 1919, elder brother Samuel Emery returned home to provide for his family, including his mother Delia and his younger brothers Beauford and Joseph. Sam supported his brothers’ pursuit of art through a barbershop out of the family home at 815 East Vine Avenue in Knoxville. He purchased the house on Dandridge Avenue in 1948 for the growing Delaney family.
The home on 815 East Vine is no longer standing. It was destroyed by Knoxville’s Urban Renewal Projects, which were implemented lasted from 1959 to 1974. These projects disproportionately affected the Black community, resulting in the displacement of more than 2,500 families, 15 Black churches, and 107 Black businesses, including the Delaney barbershop. As a result, the 1935 Dandridge Avenue location is the only surviving home of the Delaney family.
© Wells International Foundation
© Wells International Foundation
Though the groundbreaking event announced the formal start of construction on the ancestral property, Delaney Museum at Beck is a project that is several years in the making. The vision for the new museum includes a permanent exhibit that celebrates the history of the Delaney family, an artist in residency program to nurture the talents of upcoming artists, and a rotating exhibit of African-American artwork.
The groundbreaking event took place on a significant date: August 30th, 2021 marks 102 years since the Knoxville Race Riot of 1919, an event that shaped the lives and world views of brothers Beauford and Joseph. Two days of racial violence shook the city as a mob of 5,000 white men descended upon downtown Knoxville in hopes of lynching a Black man. When they could not find him, the mob instead turned their ire toward the Black community located at the intersection of Vine Avenue and Central Street.
Beauford personally witnessed this violence, and memories of it haunted him for the rest of his life.
Reverend Reneé Kesler, president of the Beck Center, presided over the ceremony, which took place outdoors under a tent at the property. Attendees wore masks and respected social distancing to maintain the health and safety of the community during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Image courtesy of Beck Cultural Exchange Center
Image courtesy of Beck Cultural Exchange Center
Rev. Kesler had the following to say about this historic event:
“So why are we having the groundbreaking on this day? Because on August 30, 102 years ago, we were fighting for our lives. On that day, armed white men plotted to attack the Black community, and Black men prepared to defend themselves. This would be a defining moment in Knoxville’s history, and it was particularly horrifying for Beauford. Today, 102 years later, we sit under a tent to celebrate the groundbreaking of an international museum with a Black, white and brown community together,
commemorating a Black family of talented artists. I’m sorry if it’s a little warm, but it’s not as hot as it was 102 years ago.
“Beck is serious about preserving and conserving this rich and amazing history, and we are being intentional about bringing everybody along.”
Rev. Kesler expressed her belief that “Beauford Delaney is by far the most important artist Knoxville produced in the twentieth century, at least in terms of national and international reputation.” She believes that the Delaney Museum at Beck will build on the legacy of Beauford and the Delaney family and notes that while the construction of this museum doesn’t mean that racial inequality isn’t still an issue affecting the world today, it’s a step in the right direction.
See press articles about the ceremony below:
New museum at Beauford Delaney's ancestral home designed to inspire artistic expression
Beck Cultural Exchange Center breaks ground on Beauford Delaney Museum
Image courtesy of Beck Cultural Exchange Center
Zachary James Miller, the Paris-based producer/director/writer of the full-length documentary entitled Beauford Delaney: So Splendid a Journey, attended the ceremony and shot footage of the event to include in the documentary.
The Delaney Museum at Beck hopes to be open to the public by Fall 2022.
Gathering Light: Evolution of a Beauford Delaney Initiative
Not long after the Beauford Delaney: Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition in February - March 2016, residents of Beauford's hometown of Knoxville, TN gathered to launch what they called the "Beauford Delaney in America" initiative. The project has steadily evolved since that first meeting, and it is now known as Gathering Light: The Delaney Project.
I've published posts about many Gathering Light events since 2016, including those shown below:
- Historical Marker Honors Beauford and Joseph Delaney in Knoxville
- "Bringing Delaney Home" at the Knoxville Museum of Art
- KMA Mounts Classes Duo Paris / Knoxville Exhibition
- Knoxville Continues to Celebrate Beauford: What's Coming Next
- In a Speculative Light - UTK Symposium on Beauford and Baldwin
- Beauford Delaney Opera a Tremendous Success!
Though Covid-19 interrupted the fantastic line-up of events that was scheduled to unfold in 2020 and put Gathering Light into somewhat of a holding pattern, the initiative is now poised for relaunch. The August 30 groundbreaking ceremony for the Delaney Museum at Beck will serve as the kindling for the new blaze of activities that will focus on music, visual arts, and local community building.
In conjunction with the ceremony, Beauford Delaney: So Splendid a Journey documentary director/producer/writer Zachary James Miller will interview representatives of several Gathering Light member organizations and incorporate these videos into the film.
As a council member of the Delaney Project, I'm excited about everything that is to come! Continue to look for reports on our activities here, in the Les Amis blog.
Beauford on Art Sphere Inc.
Over the past few years, I've written a couple of posts about art lessons inspired by Beauford's work:
Museums Use Beauford's Art to Reach Out to Children
Today I found another example of this.
Art Sphere Inc. has a section on its Web site called Art Basics, through which it encourages youth to build art skills and express creativity through a series of brief online lessons and downloadable handouts. They have created a handout that presents Beauford's relationship with James Baldwin, talks about Beauford's painterly style, and encourages readers to use their imaginations to color images of Beauford and Baldwin. The black and white tracings are inspired by Errol Sawyer's photo portrait of Beauford and Beauford's 1945 portrait of Baldwin.
Rue Guilleminot
France 1973
© Errol Sawyer
(1945) Oil on canvas
Philadelphia Museum of Art
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Find the Art Sphere Inc. page here:
The Delaney Museum at Beck - Groundbreaking Ceremony Scheduled for August 30
Established in 1975, the Beck Cultural Exchange Center is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that was created as a result of the City of Knoxville’s Urban Renewal projects. It has been designated by the State of Tennessee as the primary repository of black history and culture in East Tennessee.
Beck is restoring the only remaining ancestral home of the Delaney family with the intent to create a museum that will preserve an extraordinary piece of Knoxville history. Located next door to the cultural center, The Delaney Museum at Beck will honor Beauford and his brother Joseph as internationally known artists.
© Wells International Foundation
BarberMcMurry Architects of Knoxville is undertaking the renovation. Click the following link for a virtual tour of the future museum: Delaney Museum at Beck Virtual Tour
Beck has announced that a "groundbreaking" ceremony will be held on Monday, August 30 at 5:30 PM Eastern Time.
It is anticipating global interest in the facility, saying that "The eyes of the world will be on Knoxville as art lovers from around the world make the pilgrimage to the Delaney Museum at Beck to experience this unparalleled showpiece."
To sign up for a formal invitation to the groundbreaking ceremony and receive notifications about the project, click HERE.
Brandeis University's Greene Street Painting on Display at Rose Art Museum
Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University is proudly touting its Beauford Delaney abstract, entitled Abstraction (Greene Street), as part of its re: collections, Six Decades at the Rose Art Museum exhibition.
(1950) Oil on canvas
Gift of Mr. Maurice Geller, -.1050.
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
Curatorial Intern Sam Forman describes the work as follows:
Greene Street (1950) is filled with swirling colors that evoke a sense of motion around its stationary black figures, reflecting the vibrancy of city life even in still moments. One cannot quite tell who is who and what is what—where are these figures? Why are they together? What is nearby? The green-yellow-orange mound in the center appears to be a fire à la Can Fire in the Park (1946), an example of Delaney placing explicit focus on a community-building and -sustaining source of warmth and light. Every object in this piece, human or otherwise, feels slightly out of focus due to the meandering lines and multi-hued outlines, bringing the viewer back to those questions about the scene and its contents. The abstract nature of Greene Street (1950) lets the scene reflect an infinite number of moments as the figures can be anyone and anywhere.
The Rose’s Greene Street (1950) is rather different from some other Greene Street paintings. The Greene Street (1940) in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, features more defined objects, although it maintains the abstraction of the Rose’s. A Greene Street (1946) sold by art collector Jonathan Boos retains this characteristic: a streetlight, fire hydrant, and food carts are readily identifiable. These other pieces of the same name also lack the human focus that the Rose’s does: whereas ours features prominently three people, there is one person in the 1946 piece and none in the 1940 piece.
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, 2021
Photograph by Isometric Studio, Brooklyn, New York
Image courtesy of the Rose Art Museum
Rose Art Museum granted Les Amis an exclusive interview regarding Abstraction (Greene Street) 1950. Find it below.
Les Amis: When did the museum acquire Greene Street, 1950?
Rose Art Museum: Greene Street belonged to Brandeis University prior to 1961, when the museum was founded. It was gifted to the University with the credit line, “Gift of Mr. Maurice Geller.” Upon the Rose’s founding, it entered the museum’s collection. It was first displayed on January 18, 1971 at Brandeis University in the Morton May Memorial Hall, now the Shapiro Admissions Center.
Les Amis: Is the painting on permanent display?
Rose Art Museum: No. The Rose does not display any works permanently, but it is currently on view within the exhibition re: collections, Six Decades at the Rose Art Museum.
Les Amis: Has it ever been displayed at the Rose Museum prior to the current exhibition?
Rose Art Museum: It has been displayed on the Brandeis campus, but there is no record of it being exhibited at the Rose prior to May 2021, when we opened re: collections.
Les Amis: What is the full exhibition history of the painting?
Rose Art Museum: Aside from its display in the Morton May Memorial Hall in 1971, one exhibition is in our record: "Beauford Delaney: The New York Years / [1929-1953]," April 9-May 28, 1994, Philippe Briet Gallery, New York. This is the exhibition in which University officials discovered the whereabouts of Greene Street two decades after it was stolen.
Beauford Delaney: The New York Years
Invitation card (interior)
Courtesy of Sylvain Briet
Les Amis: Might your Greene Street painting be the one shown in a 1950 exhibition at the Whitney Museum?
Rose Art Museum: We are unsure—Whitney research and archives experts may be able to help. I found a “catalogue number 88” listed with Delaney’s name in that exhibition but cannot access anything specific. The New York Times also potentially has an article on the exhibition, accessible with a subscription to the newspaper.
Les Amis: What is the full provenance of the painting?
Rose Art Museum: There is no provenance record at the Rose, aside from the gift by Maurice Geller.
Les Amis: I understand that Greene Street was stolen in 1971 and the whereabouts of the painting were unknown for several years before it was recovered in 2000. Please provide details about the theft and the recovery.
Rose Art Museum: The November 21, 2000 edition of The Justice, Brandeis’ oldest newspaper, ran “Stolen painting’s brush with adventure ends” about how Greene Street was stolen around April 1971 after its display in the Shapiro Admissions Center. In 1994 the work appeared in a gallery show in New York City, detailed above. Brandeis General Counsel Judith Sizer worked for six years to bring it back, contacting the New York Police Department which held the painting in that time, and fighting another claimant to ownership of the painting. In 2000 Ed Callahan, Brandeis’s director of public safety, got the NYPD to release the work and return it to the University.
Les Amis: Did Beauford name the painting or was the name ascribed by someone else?
Rose Art Museum: Delaney had numerous paintings that are now called Greene Street, either as their name or connected to their actual untitled status. The full name of the Rose’s is Abstraction (Greene Street) and I can find no information on who named it, Delaney or otherwise.
Installation view, re: collections, Six Decades at the Rose Art Museum
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, 2021
Photograph by Isometric Studio, Brooklyn, New York
Image courtesy of the Rose Art Museum
re: collections will be on view for three years, with several rotations.
Rose Art Museum
Brandeis University
415 South Street
Waltham, MA 02453
Telephone: 781-736-3434
roseartmuseum@brandeis.edu
Hours: Wednesday - Sunday 11 AM - 5 PM
Admission is free.
Case Antiques Sells Beauford Delaney Abstract for $348,000
On July 24, Case Antiques placed an "unusual" Beauford Delaney painting up for auction.
Untitled
(c. 1972) Oil on canvas
63 3/4 x 51 1/4 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The estimated sale price was $60,000-$70,000.
On Monday evening, July 26, Sarah Campbell Drury, Vice President of Fine and Decorative Arts at Case, contacted me to tell me that the painting sold for a whopping $348,000!
Case's press release describes the work as "a rhythmic abstract oil on canvas" that is "a bit of departure from the modernist urban scenes and atmospheric abstractions which typically define Delaney’s work."
On the sales page for the painting, Case posted an image of Beauford's niece, Ogust Delaney Stewart, sitting in the storage facility in which the painting had been stored. The painting can be seen at the right side of the image.
Barbara W. and Bernard E. Bernstein Curator of the
Knoxville Museum of Art
Multiple phone and internet bidders competed for the abstract, with the hammer eventually falling to an anonymous phone bidder. The sales price includes a 20% buyer's premium and applicable taxes and fees.
The painting resembles an abstract acquired by San Francisco MoMA last year.
(1974) Oil on canvas
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
63 3/4 x 51 1/4 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Beauford's African Motif
This month, France is wrapping up a pan-African and multidisciplinary project called Africa2020, which focuses on innovation in the arts, sciences, technology, entrepreneurship and the economy.
In thinking about innovation, the arts, and Africa, I thought about Beauford's many works that were inspired by the continent throughout the years. I share images of a few of them below.
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esq.,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Sylvain Briet
Untitled (Fang, Crow and Fruit)
(1945) Oil on canvas
Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn, NY
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esq.,
Court Appointed Administrator
(c. 1968) Oil monoprint on paper
Knoxville Museum of Art
Knoxville, TN
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Self-portrait in a Paris Bath House
(1971) Oil on canvas
Knoxville Museum of Art
Knoxville, TN
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Man in African Dress
(c. 1972) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Image courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC
New York, NY
Case Antiques to Auction Beauford Delaney Painting on July 24
Case Antiques is placing an "unusual" Beauford Delaney painting up for auction on July 24.
Untitled
(c. 1972) Oil on canvas
63 3/4 x 51 1/4 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The estimated sale price is $60,000-$70,000.
(1974) Oil on canvas
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
63 3/4 x 51 1/4 inches
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Pre-approval is required to bid on this lot. Contact Case Antiques, Inc. for details at 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM.
Musing with a Master Abstract Expressionist - Part 2
In Part 1 of this article, I presented images of three Beauford-inspired paintings created by Osiris Munir, President/CEO of Ankh Entertainment, host of the 15 Minutes interview series, and visual artist. Based on an interview with her, I began to explore the similarities between her life and that of Beauford.
Part 2 looks at more of these similarities and share her musings about the conversation she'd like to have with Beauford.
TRAVEL
Beauford traveled extensively in France and in Europe, often through invitations by friends. As often as possible, he painted wherever he went.
(1966) Oil on thick, cream wove paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Munir enjoys traveling as well:
One of the similarities in the life of myself and Beauford Delaney’s is our love of travel and living outside of a box. I traveled and lived in Europe for a year. When I found out about the St. Germain district of Paris, I lost it. It seemed far more interesting and engaged than anything I had experienced in the U.S. The experience left me longing for deeper engagement with international culture and cultural activities and lifestyle outside the U.S.
APPRECIATION OF COLOR
In his New York Times obituary on Beauford, C. Gerald Fraser quotes NYT art critic John Russell, who said that Beauford was an “uninhibited colorist (though never an unintelligent one).” Biographer David Leeming refers to Beauford's primary interest in light and color many times in Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney.
Munir speaks eloquently about her interpretation of the "muted" colors of The Three Are One and certain works by Beauford:
Orange is the color of the Sun - it offers hope and sheds light on untruths so that truth may be seen and lies may be exposed. Raw umber is an earth color - Giving a sense of belonging to something greater than myself and living a grounded and organic lifestyle as close to natural as possible. It is the darkness that hides beneath a smile or behind teeth that laugh. White for me is the clarity in thought and vision one gains after hours of looking deeply into a web of shapes, designs, and patterns . . . the visions that come and go as quickly as they came . . . the pain experienced when trying to fit into a world that is unwilling to allow you to just be.
(c. 1958-1959) Oil on paper, laid down on canvas
Image courtesy of Aaron Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Osiris Munir
(2021) Oil on paperboard
WRITING
Beauford journaled extensively about his harshly critical inner voices and his use of art to appease them, to silence them, and finally, to represent them on canvas as one would a person sitting for a portrait.
(1965) Oil on canvas
Private Collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
He often shared feelings of loneliness and frustration in letters to his closest friends.
Through her book entitled Nita, Munir "painstakingly deals with topics of the human soul such as anger, forgiveness, loneliness, fear, depression, and mental health."
LACK OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES
Beauford was often without sufficient funds to pay for the paints and other supplies that would allow him to work and keep his inner voices at bay. Because of this, and because had a propensity to give money away when he did have it, his friends would buy him canvases and other art supplies so he could continue to work. The story of his "raincoat painting," which he created by painting on an old raincoat that he cut up and used for canvas, is well known.
(1954) Oil on raincoat fragment
Photos courtesy of Sue Canterbury
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Munir recounts a similar experience:
I use brick paperboard for lack of having all of what I need . . . I never have additional money to buy great canvas, brushes and paints to use. They are either given to me or I have to overlook an important bill to buy what I need instead. Occasionally, I am able to get extra money to buy supplies to use for my one-room studio.
**********
When asked what she would discuss with Beauford if she were able to sit down with him today, Munir responded:
If I could sit down with Beauford Delaney in 2021, we would talk about his being born too early and being prepared to fight for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ and the freedom for all people.
We would laugh about how the movement of the African aka Black American to free himself of slave mentality and to release the pain of the past and move towards the future without fear and how long and hard the journey has been and how much further we may or may not have to go. How slavery and the stigma of color and may never end but certainly has garnered global attention.
We would talk about politics and how it affects the life of the artist. How he is a muse and comfort to many. What he thought about European’s perspective on abstract art and its many forms of expression. How none are free until all are free.
We would talk about James Baldwin and his brilliance and how the two of them were ahead of their time.
We would talk about drug laws and whether they help or hurt us. We would talk about art. Colors. Sounds and feelings. I would ask what he thought of the philosophy of Bruce Lee.
We would talk about pain and suffering and how it makes for the brilliance and shine others see in us.
Musing with a Master Abstract Expressionist - Part 1
Osiris Munir is President/CEO of Ankh Entertainment and host of the 15 Minutes interview series. She is also a visual artist.
Munir learned about Beauford through various contacts with me. Inspired by his work, she recently created three previously unseen abstract works and shared images of them with the Wells International Foundation and Les Amis de Beauford Delaney. She calls them The Three Are One.
Osiris Munir
(2021) Oil on paperboard
They call to my mind Beauford's Untitled (Yellow Abstraction), shown below.
(c. 1958-1959) Oil on paper, laid down on canvas
Image courtesy of Aaron Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Prior to a series of challenging life events that led her to the investigation of intuitive abstract art, Munir:
. . . hated art and thought it a rip off of one’s time and money. I knew nothing of Pollock, Hofmann, Kandinsky, Rothko, Krasner, Monet, Picasso, and Georgia O’Keefe until a neighbor turned me onto Bob Ross. I began watching YouTube study channels. . . .
I did not hear of Beauford until the introduction and the telling of his story by Monique Wells, founder of the Wells International Foundation. Of course, I was fascinated. Until then I knew nothing of abstract art outside of the aforementioned. Monique told me of her search for his grave and how it was without a head stone ... how he died in a mental institute in Paris.
As a veteran diagnosed with a variety of mental disorders, Munir readily understands and resonates with the suffering of the mentally disturbed. She finds art to be a great tool and channel for releasing an abundance of creative energy. Simultaneously and intrinsically drawn to Beauford's life and work, she describes his work (and her own) as being purposeful and intentional. She says that Beauford seemed to take obscure thoughts that were disconnected in some ways and harmonized them in arrays of colorful expression.
To create The Three Are One, Munir used oil on brick paperboard. This was inspired by Beauford's Burning Bush, which is currently held at the Newark Art Museum. She loves the texture of oil:It seems to find its way through my fingers into my hands and onto a canvas, brick, or piece of wood. It looks like velvet when applied to a primed canvas. It looks elegant and rich to me. It calls me and speaks to me from a place that is unexplainable. Oil seems to have the property and gift of manifestation for me. It seems to move with my eyes and fingers ... [Using it makes me feel] like another entity outside of myself is painting, not me.
Munir chose the colors for these works based on Tarot cards by Madame Marie Laveau of New Orleans, which she says are similar to colors used by Beauford and others of that time. She offered the following comment about this:
Some of his (Beauford's) pieces use muted colors wherein they seem flat until you take a closer look. After looking closer at these pieces, the feeling and sense of how each color moves on paper and canvas carries a certain exposure of light.
Next week: Osiris Munir talks in depth about similarities between her life and Beauford's, and muses about the conversation she'd have with him if they could sit down together today.
Beauford Delaney and Free Lunch - Part 2
Last week, I introduced "Beauford Delaney (Instrumental)," a track on Volume 3 of the newly released three-volume recording entitled Free Lunch,. Intrigued by the music, I interviewed recording artist Free (Lee) Tillman about it. Read Part 1 of "Beauford Delaney and Free Lunch" HERE.
Part of our interview explored Tillman's associations between "Beauford Delaney (Instrumental)" and specific pieces of Beauford's art.
I asked him what he would say if he had to describe the instrumental Beauford Delaney as a color, and he responded "It would be a cloudy gray."
He then shared links to images of some of the darker pieces of Beauford's work that come to his mind when he thinks about the song. The works are pictured below.
Watercolor
Signed at bottom right, dated, and annotated "Souvenir" at bottom left
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Oil on paper mounted on canvas
Image courtesy of www.ha.com
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The majority of music Tillman makes is instrumental, yet he was inspired to insert a mysterious voice into "Beauford Delaney (Instrumental). Listening carefully, you will hear a woman saying "Sometimes I wish we could vanish." When I asked Tillman about this, he told me that he also created a vocal version of "Beauford Delaney" for his album. He shared that recording with me and commented about it as follows:
"This song happens to be one of only two songs on the album that has alternative versions where I provided vocals. The song “Theaster Gates” has a spoken word passage and the song Beauford Delaney has me rapping on it. I provided the instrumental versions in case people didn’t want to hear my voice."
Regarding a possible relationship between the single line of spoken words in the instrumental version and the lyrics of the vocal version, he said:
"There is no direct relationship. When I originally made the song, it felt like it needed a human voice, so I added the vocal sample. It's not meant to be completely intelligible. It's meant to sound like something you might hear in a dream. I then decided to create something more direct, so I added my own vocals. One thing let me to the next, but I wouldn't say that they're directly related as far as what's being said."
Listening to the vocal version of "Beauford Delaney" and comparing it to the instrumental version, the two Beauford Delaney works shown below came to my mind. I sent images of them to Tillman and asked him to share his reactions to them.
(1967) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1967) Oil on canvas
Private collection
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
His response:
"The blue painting feels like the instrumental. The portrait feels like the vocal version."
To wrap up our interview, I asked Tillman the following questions:
Les Amis: Relating to the theme of your album, Free Lunch, if you could have lunch with Beauford today, what would you want to discuss with him?
Free Tillman: I would love to talk with him about the Harlem Renaissance and what it was like living in Greenwich Village.
Les Amis: What might you ask his advice about?
Free Tillman: How to convey one's political and social beliefs through abstract art.
Beauford Delaney and Free Lunch - Part 1
After listening to the recording multiple times, I contacted Tillman to ask for an interview. He responded quickly and affirmatively.
I learned that Free (Lee) Tillman became aware of Beauford because of his fascination with the Harlem Renaissance. While he is more familiar with the writers and musicians of the time, anyone who was involved with the Harlem Renaissance is an inspiration to him.
Beauford in his Greene Street studio, New York City, 1944
© Estate of Beauford Delaney,
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Tillman is also fascinated by James Baldwin and encountered Beauford's name in connection with Baldwin. He learned about Beauford mostly from reading online articles and watching YouTube videos, and he was aware that Beauford painted several portraits of Baldwin. He has never seen any of Beauford's works in person.
Serendipitously, Tillman and Beauford share the same birthday, and Beauford died the year Tillman was born. Tillman is something of a visual artist as well - he creates his own visual backdrops for his performances and he also draws (though he has not produced anything he would be willing to show anyone yet).
The majority of the twenty-two (22) tracks on Volume 3 of Free Lunch are named after artists - people such as Amy Sherald, Faith Ringgold, Ed Clark, and Sam Gilliam. I asked Tillman why. He responded:
Over the past few years, I’ve been studying art history on my own. Trying to understand different movements and where certain ideas came from. This year there was a documentary released called “Black Art: In the Absence of Light” which focuses a lot on the 1976 LACMA exhibition Two Centuries of Black American Art. It features a lot of Black artists, new and old, that I had never heard of before. As I was wrapping up this project, Black art was on my mind, and I thought it would be an interesting idea to name all the songs after Black artists. Maybe someone would see all the names, do some research and find out something new. I’m familiar with the work of all the artists named but I do not know any of them personally.
I explained that Beauford did not want to be viewed as a black artist, or even as an American artist. He strongly felt that "ARTIST" was the only term required to define him professionally. I also explained that this in no way indicated that Beauford wanted to cast aside his identity as a black person.
Tillman then asked whether Beauford adopted Abstract Expressionism as a style because he did not want to be defined as a "Black artist." I replied that I believe Beauford became an Abstract Expressionist painter because it allowed him to express the incredible emotion and energy that always churned within him, particularly when his inner voices became more insistent and more cruel.
Come back next week to read about Tillman's associations between "Beauford Delaney (Instrumental)" and specific pieces of Beauford's art.
First Beauford Delaney Research Award Recipient Announced
1953 - Carl Van Vechten
On Sunday, June 6, 2021, during a ceremony held at the Festival d'histoire de l'art (Festival of Art History) at the Château de Fontainebleau, the first recipient of the Beauford Research Grant was announced.
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the US, in partnership with FACE Foundation and INHA, and with support from the Ford Foundation, awarded the prize to Ms. Vanina Géré for her research project entitled "'Hacking apparatuses of control': Contemporary African-American Political Digital Practices and Beyond." She will receive $20,000 to cover expenses related to her research project in the U.S. next year.
Ms. Géré is a Paris-based scholar who specializes in contemporary American art, with special interests in art and activism, feminist art history, African-American studies, software studies and contemporary painting. She wrote Les mauvais sentiments – L'art de Kara Walker, a book that "traces the career of Kara Walker (born in 1969), the most internationally recognized African-American artist since Jean-Michel Basquiat, and explores the history of the reception of a work that faces the limits of representation, challenging the question of the figuration of the black body."
Currently teaching at Villa Arson National School of Fine Arts in Nice, France, Ms. Géré will be on a sabbatical leave this upcoming year to conduct a research on feminist, Afro-feminist and anti-racist activist practices in digital art and culture in Europe and the U.S. Thanks to this grant, she will be traveling to New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles to meet with artists, curators and writers.
France Nerlich, who granted Les Amis a two-part interview about the award, presented Ms. Géré to festival attendees. Watch her presentation and Ms. Géré's acceptance speech (in French) here:
FHA21 - dimanche 6 juin - Salle des Colonnes, château de Fontainebleau
Beginning at 24:06 minutes, Ms. Nerlich relates the story of how the grant was conceived.
At 26:11 minutes, she explains why the grant is named after Beauford.
At 27:08 minutes, she introduces Ms. Géré.
At 28:17 minutes, Ms. Géré takes the microphone and describes her encounter with Beauford's art at the Tate Modern during the Soul of a Nation exhibition in 2017. She then presents the project that inspired the committee to grant her the award.
The selection committee, comprised of art historians Eric de Chassey, Director of INHA in Paris, Richard J. Powell, John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art & Art History at Duke University, Anne Lafont, Art Historian and directrice d'études à l'École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS), France Nerlich, Director of Studies and Research at INHA, and Anne-Claire Duprat, Visual Arts Officer at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the U.S., received a total of six excellent research proposals, which is an honorable number for a new grant in its first year. The committee extends its warmest encouragement to Helene Valance for her project “Re-present: African-American representations of the national past, 19th-early 20th century,” which came in second place.
Committee member Richard J. Powell, John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art & Art History at Duke University, and curator of the Beauford Delaney: The Color Yellow exhibition launched at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta in 2002, commented on the award as follows:
I am delighted that this new research grant, named after the legendary artist Beauford Delaney, will further strengthen the long-standing cultural ties between France and the United States. Given the importance of France in the careers and creative works of countless artists of African descent, this grant honors Delaney and his fellow travelers, and promises to make their artistic contributions better known.
Gaëtan Bruel, Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy in the U.S., commented as follows:
In our current socio-political context, both in France and the United States, BIPOC communities are rightfully asking for equality and better representation and visibility, including in the arts. We at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy are committed now more than ever to pursuing our mission to support high quality artistic projects that speak to the crucial issues of our times while promoting the social and humanistic values that are at the core of the Franco-America friendship. We send Vanina Géré our best wishes for the success of her future research project. We also thank our partners, FACE Foundation and the Ford Foundation, for their essential support, and their ongoing commitment to make this world a better, fairer place through art and culture.