Case Antiques Auction Results
Last week, Case Antiques of Knoxville, TN placed four (4) works on paper from the Beauford Delaney Estate up for sale during its Two Day Summer Fine Arts and Antiques sale.
(c. 1930s) Pastel on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Estimated sale price: $8,000 - $10,000
(1963) Charcoal on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Estimated sale price: $4,000 - $4,400
(Undated) Pastel on Paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Estimated sale price: $8,000 - $9,000
(1966) Ink on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Estimated sale price: $3,400 - $3,800
All of them sold.
The pastel portraits fetched the best prices of the group: Portrait of a Man Smoking a Pipe sold for $9,760 and Portrait of a Man with Glasses and Necktie sold for $7,320.
The ink on paper landscape of Istanbul sold for $4,148, and the charcoal on paper portrait sold for $3,416.
All sale prices listed above include a 22% buyer's premium.
For additional information about the sales (the July 6 and July 7 auctions are listed separately), click HERE.
Case Auctions Offers Four Beauford Delaney Works on Paper for Sale
Today and tomorrow, Case Auctions of Knoxville, TN is offering four (4) works on paper from the Beauford Delaney Estate for purchase during its Two Day Summer Fine Arts and Antiques sale.
Lots 168 and 169 will be auctioned on July 6, 2024:
(c. 1930s) Pastel on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Estimated sale price: $8,000 - $10,000
(1963) Charcoal on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Estimated sale price: $4,000 - $4,400
(1963) Charcoal on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
While I have seen 1930s portraits done by Beauford that are consistent with the style of Portrait of a Man Smoking a Pipe, I have not seen any 1963 portraits that compare to Portrait of a Black Man.
Lots 1087 and 1088 will be auctioned on July 7, 2024:
(Undated) Pastel on Paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Estimated sale price: $8,000 - $9,000
(1966) Ink on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Estimated sale price: $3,400 - $3,800
(1966) Ink on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The ink on paper landscape entitled Istanbul, Turkey is signed and dated 1966.
I have published images of two additional Istanbul landscapes with the same date in past blog posts: an oil on paper in "Beauford in Istanbul" and a watercolor in "Another June Sale."
All the works being auctioned by Case this weekend bear the stamp of Beauford's estate.
For information about the sale, click HERE.
UTLibraries Comes to Paris
The University of Tennessee Libraries is visiting Paris this summer to conduct research that will support a Beauford Delaney exhibition at its facility in Autumn 2025. The exhibition will feature the Beauford Delaney Papers*, which the libraries obtained in 2022 and made available to researchers in January 2024.
UTLibraries received a $250,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to complete processing and promote the archive. The grant will not only fund the exhibition and celebration, but also support a two-year graduate research fellowship and community exhibitions planned in collaboration with the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA), the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, and UT’s Ewing Gallery of Art.
Senior Associate Dean Holly Mercer contacted me in April 2024 to request my assistance through consulting and providing walking tours relevant to Beauford's life in Paris. Thanks to the Wells International Foundation's Entrée to Black Paris Cultural Awareness program, I was able to support this project by providing two private guided tours, a visit to Thiais Cemetery (Beauford's final resting place), and several hours of consulting over a period of three weeks.
In addition to Senior Associate Dean Mercer, I had the pleasure of interacting with Jennifer Beals, Director of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives; Kris Bronstad, Modern Political Archivist & Assistant Professor; and Katrina Stack, Graduate Research Assistant for the Beauford Delaney Papers.
During the first week, Director Beals and Ph.D. candidate Stack experienced the "Beauford Delaney's Montparnasse" walk, which takes place in Paris' 6th and 14th arrondissements.
© Wells International Foundation
During Week 2, the consultation session with Archivist Bronstad and Stack began at Le Select, one of Beauford's favorite Montparnasse cafés, and ended over lunch at the nearby Chez Lionel. In walking from one location to the other, we made a quick detour to stand in front of the hotel on rue Delambre where Beauford's first studio was located.
© Discover Paris!
Two days later, we visited Thiais Cemetery. Bronstad and Stack purchased a lovely bunch of yellow roses to place on the tombstone.
© Wells International Foundation
© Wells International Foundation
While at the grave, we discovered the remnants of a sketch and message left under the ceramic flower arrangement by UT Downtown Gallery Manager Mike Berry in October 2023. Though he had slipped the sketch into a Ziploc bag, the plastic failed to protect it.
Fortunately, we could still make out the words "With love, Knoxville, TN."
© Wells International Foundation
During Week 3, Associate Dean Mercer and Stack experienced the newly developed "Beauford on the Left Bank" walk, which emerged from the customization of the Entrée to Black Paris walk entitled "James Baldwin in Paris." Both tours take place on and around boulevard Saint-Germain in the 6th arrondissement.
Stack, a cultural geographer whose primary research areas are geographies of memory and Black geographies, remarked on the proximity of the locations visited on each of the walking tours. She also noted that the Left Bank walk ended down the street from where the Montparnasse walk began.
© Wells International Foundation
I am looking forward to visiting Knoxville next year to see the main exhibition at UT Libraries and the community exhibitions at KMA, Beck, and UT’s Ewing Gallery of Art!
*The Beauford Delaney Papers consists of family, personal, and professional correspondence, photographs, sketchbooks and notebooks, artwork, exhibition material, and biographical records created or collected by Beauford.
It also includes correspondence with influential artists and gallerists such as Palmer Hayden, Lawrence Calcagno, James LeGros, Dorothy Block, Darthea Speyer, and Joseph Delaney; the writers James Baldwin, Henry Miller, and James Jones; and other cultural figures.
For more information about the archive project, click HERE.
Bob Mair on Beauford
Bob Mair is the founder/owner/CEO of Black Toast Music, an Indie music publishing company. He is also a musician and composer.
Mair wrote to me a few days ago in search of information about Grèce, one of two paintings shown during the 2016 Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition in Paris that are currently in his collection.
(1967) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Our lively email exchange about this work inspired me to extend a request an interview, which he accepted.
Read it below.
Les Amis: When did you first learn about Beauford Delaney?
BM: I believe it was 2013 when Jim Levis first showed me works by Beauford. I was enamored by the work but I hadn’t developed quite the eye to understand what I was looking at. I knew the work was good, I could feel it, but I didn’t understand why. His work was so different than what I was collecting at the time. I wish I could go back in time, as those works are now long gone.
Les Amis: What attracts you to his work?
BM: There is something that Beauford understood and was able to capture in his work. It was beyond just the physical and tactile, he was able to paint the essence of things. The people he painted (the portraits) as well as the pure abstract works he painted all had a thread that connected them. I don’t know if he was a Buddhist, but he was able to capture the “no separation”, the entirety of things. The whole of what is. Physical, spiritual, light and dark. And over time, as I have studied the work, I believe that some of the paintings that are perceived as pure abstract are actually portraits. No separation.
Les Amis: When did you begin collecting his work?
BM: I began collecting his work in 2017. I was at a viewing with Jim Levis in Long Island City. Jim had quite a bit of art on the walls - things he knew I was drawn to as well as some things that he wanted to test the waters with to see if I might be drawn to them. I wasn’t so sure about anything he had shown me on that particular day.
My daughter and Jim’s partner, Jamie Black, left the room and went into the hallway. Outside, Jim had a cart of other paintings that were pulled for another client to view after we left. My daughter Rachel said, "Dad, I really like this painting." It was Untitled 1970 by Beauford.
(1970) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
I was so excited. I felt that my earlier sense of Delaney’s work from years ago had been validated. My daughter has a fantastic eye and I felt it was meant to be. So – that was the first Delaney that was added to my collection.
Les Amis: Of the four works that you own, which is your favorite and why?
BM: I really don’t have a favorite. I love them all. Each work stands on its own for different reasons. That being said, in my opinion, these are all stellar works by an amazing man and artist, and I’m very lucky to be the current caretaker of these works. They cover a wide swath of what he experienced, who and what he loved, as well as the fact that they are some of the best examples of the “no separation” understanding that Beauford was able to convey in his work.
Les Amis: What type of research are you performing on Beauford's work and why?
BM: I’m a bit OCD as well as a bit ADD so I love getting hyper focused and going down the “rabbit hole.” I look for hard to find out of print exhibition catalogs, essays, books, museum catalogs, etc. for every artist I collect as well as artists that I’d like to collect. My Art Book collection is quite extensive at this point. It’s a passion.
I love to learn, to expand, to understand all I can in regard to the art, the artists, the struggle, and the history of why there even “was a struggle for them.” These artists experienced things in their lifetime that I will never experience, yet it is so valuable to embrace history and learn from it.
(1969) Gouache on paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Les Amis: Did Beauford's work ever influence your work as a musician?
BM: Beauford’s work actually complimented my work as a musician. His work is an extension of my love of jazz. It expresses a deeper expression of what is similar to Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, etc.
By having Beauford’s work in my home, I feel a constant reminder of the best of what is and what could be. Having his work hang in my home is like having my walls filled with Zen Koans. I am so lucky to be surrounded by such talent and artistry. The ability to overcome the boundaries that Beauford was faced with is a constant reminder to me as an artist to keep going no matter what.
Les Amis: Do you have any additional thoughts that you'd like to contribute?
BM: I would like to see Beauford Delaney’s work get more interest from museums. His story is so amazing and his work should really be shared with the public on a much larger scale.
I’m a huge fan of loaning artwork so that it’s able to be seen and experienced by others who can learn and open their eyes to what is possible. I love having his work on my walls, but I think it’s selfish to not be willing to share the experience.
(1968) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Beauford’s story and work is a fantastic example of what is possible. I’d love to see a beautiful film created that shows the life and times of Beauford - his childhood, his struggles, his associations with people like James Baldwin, which all culminated in such amazing art.
Beauford's Art and the James Baldwin Centennial
As the centennial of James Baldwin's birth (August 2, 1924) approaches, companies and cultural institutions that wish to honor Baldwin are publishing announcements about their products and programs.
Beauford's art, especially the many portraits he created of Baldwin, has provided fertile ground from which these organizations have gathered fruit to enhance their offerings.
In Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery will host a one-room show that honors Baldwin beginning on July 12, 2024. Called This Morning, This Evening, So Soon: James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance, the museum quite naturally looked to its collection and selected Beauford's 1963 pastel-on-paper portrait of Baldwin to herald the exhibition.
(1963) Pastel on Paper
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institute
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Curator Rhea Combs consulted with Hilton Als on this exhibition. Als curated the critically acclaimed 2019 exhibition God Made My Face: A Collective Portrait of James Baldwin at the David Zwirner Gallery in NYC; his show was the inspiration of what visitors will see at the National Portrait Gallery.
Edited for release in conjunction with the Baldwin Centennial, Als' new book of the same name features two Beauford Delaney works - Beauford's iconic portrait of Baldwin entitled Dark Rapture, and a work from Beauford's New York years entitled Rehearsal.
(1941) Oil on masonite
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
(1952) oil on canvas
36 1/8" x 30 1/8" / 91.8 x 76.5 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
Vintage Books of Penguin Random House has re-issued deluxe editions of Baldwin's Giovanni's Room, Go Tell It on the Mountain, and If Beale Street Could Talk. Each book features a Beauford Delaney portrait of Baldwin as cover art.
I anticipate that more such occurences will be forthcoming over the next few weeks and will report them as I learn of them.
Recent auction sales
Last week, Christie's New York and Black Art Auction in St. Louis, MO auctioned Beauford Delaney works.
Christie's sold an untitled Beauford Delaney abstract at its Post War and Contemporary Art Day Sale on May 17, 2024.
(1967) Oil on canvas
Signed, inscribed and dated ‘Beauford Delaney Paris 1967’
(on the reverse)
31 ¾ x 23 ¾ in. (80.6 x 60.2 cm.)
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Beauford painted this work sometime in 1967. Though this was a tumultuous year for him due to his concern over the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. and multiple illnesses, he also experienced the joy of spending time with James Baldwin in Cannes during the summer and with Henry Miller in Paris during the fall.
Christie's estimated that Untitled would sell for between $100,000 and $150,000.
The painting sold for $378,000, including a 26% buyer's premium.
On May 18, 2024, Black Art Auction sold a mixed media on paper self-portrait of Beauford during its May Signature Auction.
(1964) Mixed media drawing on paper
10 x 8 inches
signed
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Beauford produced this work in 1964, the year he received a Fairfield Foundation grant of $3,500 and had a solo art exhibition at the Lambert Gallery on the Ile Saint-Louis. Its estimated sale price was $3,000 - $5,000.
It sold for $8,000, including a 25% buyer's premium.
David Leeming Presents the Bond of the Unusual Door
On May 12, 2024, David A. Leeming delivered a livestreamed presentation called "Jimmy and Beauford: The Bond of the Unusual Door" at a gathering organized by Stonington Free Library in Stonington, Connecticut.
The event was promoted as a talk during which Leeming would speak about the "life-changing and life-long friendship between James Baldwin and the artist Beauford Delaney."
Because Leeming is a biographer of Baldwin and Beauford, I looked forward to hearing his focused take on the relationship between the two men. He beautifully wove the theme of "the unusual door" through his presentation and punctuated his talk with images of paintings of Beauford or by Beauford.
Leeming attributed the phrase "the bond of the unusual door" to Baldwin. The first passage through this door occurred when Baldwin met Beauford for the first time as a depressed, 16-year-old high school student. Leeming described how Beauford's relationship with Baldwin grew and deepened and spoke poignantly about how Beauford helped Baldwin develop as a creative artist.
The second passage took place when Beauford joined Baldwin in Paris and the roles the two men previously played in each other's lives were reversed. Beauford now depended on Baldwin for introductions to people and advice on navigating life in the city.
Leeming then described his own experience with "the unusual door" when met Beauford for the first time. Charged by Baldwin to bring Beauford to Istanbul by car in 1966, he experienced firsthand the beauty and torment of Beauford's existence. After a harrowing road trip, they joined Baldwin and spent several days together in Turkey. Beauford painted a portrait of Leeming during that visit.
Screenshot from Stonington Free Library livestream
(1966) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Leeming talked about Baldwin's acquisition of property in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in southern France and Beauford's frequent visits there, particularly when he was physically or mentally fragile. He mentioned Beauford's Rosa Parks series, his love affair with the color "yellow," and his eventual commitment to Sainte-Anne's psychiatric hospital. And he spoke about Baldwin's reaction to Beauford's death.
In closing, Leeming told how he and Baldwin's brother, David, sat up with Baldwin during the final days of his battle with stomach cancer. Leeming said that much of their conversation was about Beauford and revealed that Baldwin was working on a novel about Beauford at that time. Unfortunately, he had made precious little progress on this work by the time he died.
The audience posed many questions after Leeming concluded his talk, but they were not audible on the live stream. My biggest takeaway from the Q&A period was that Leeming's biography of Beauford, entitled Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney, will be republished in 2024 by Karma Books with a forward by Hilton Als.
Rest assured that Les Amis will report on this new edition of Beauford's biography as soon as I obtain and read it!
Beauford at the Paris College of Art Commencement Ceremony
A few weeks ago, Alana Manga, Registrar and Director of Student Success of the Paris College of Art (PCA), invited me to deliver this year's undergraduate commencement address.
Her message included the following statements:
Paris College of Art is an international college of art and design located in the 10eme arrondissement in Paris. We offer American undergraduate and graduate degrees (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts) in Communication Design, Photography, Fine Arts, Interior Design and Fashion. The student body represents 51 different countries, and a similar number of cultures.
Your support of Beauford Delaney, in addition to the entrepreneurial spirit that led to Entrée to Black Paris and the Wells International Foundation are incredible accomplishments. Having met you at an American University of Paris event, I think your wealth of knowledge and insights would be valued by the graduating artist and designers encountering a world grappling with war.
I was honored to accept this invitation and delighted to base my speech on various aspects of Beauford's life and art.
The ceremony took place on May 10, 2024 at the Club d'Etoile, near Paris' Arc de Triomphe in the 8th arrondissement.
© Wells International Foundation
The weather was perfect and the house was full.
PCA Provost Dr. Michael Meere opened the ceremony with the first congratulatory discourse of the day.
© Wells International Foundation
Two members of the Class of 2024 - Ofir Avita, BFA Photography and Kirstin Ceralde, BFA Fine Art - then addressed the audience. Both students delivered thoughtful and amusing speeches that were vigorously applauded.
Dr. Meere announced the winners of student service awards and the Provost Award for Excellence in Teaching and then introduced me. He provided the perfect segway to the information I shared with the audience about Beauford.
I first congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to view themselves and their work as sources of POWER – POWER to bring about positive change in the world.
Through the evocation of events and relationships that Beauford experienced, I then invited them to create and use their art as a source of healing, a means of bridging cultural gaps, a catalyst for social change, and a unifying force in the face of negative preconceived notions and emotions.
© Wells International Foundation
Watch the first segment of the ~20-minute address below.
(Huge thanks to Alana Manga for supplying this video.)
Following my address, Dr. Meere conferred the degrees for BFA students in Communication Design, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Interior Design, and Photography as well as Certificates in Communications Design, Interior Design, Fashion Design, and Fine Arts.
Dr. Anthony Pinder, Vice Provost, Internationalization and Equity at Emerson College, conferred the degrees for BFA students in the joint Emerson/PCA global Film Art program.
Dr. Meere then invited the students to move the tassles on their graduation caps from right to left, and the ceremony was concluded. The students celebrated with a traditional cap toss and shouts of joy.
Several members of the audience, including PCA faculty, graduates, and family members of graduates, approached me during the reception after the ceremony to tell me how much they enjoyed the stories I shared about Beauford and the effect his art has had in the four areas described above.
I am thankful for such an extraordinary opportunity to extend Beauford's legacy!
© Wells International Foundation
Jimmy and Beauford: The Bond of the Unusual Door
In last week's post, I mentioned that I recently learned of an upcoming livestreamed interview with Beauford's (and James Baldwin's) biographer, David A. Leeming, during which Leeming will discuss the relationship between Beauford and James Baldwin.
Today, I'm sharing details about this interview.
Leeming met Beauford when Baldwin asked him to collect Beauford in Paris and bring him to Istanbul in July 1966. He got to know Beauford quite well during the voyage and the time they spent together once they arrived in Turkey. I wrote briefly about this in the blog post entitled "Beauford in Istanbul".
(1966) Oil on canvas
Image from Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney book jacket
Courtesy of Ernie Bynum and Denis Costin (Ernden)
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Leeming is a resident of Stonington, Connecticut. The interview will be hosted by the Stonington Free Library on May 12, 2024 from 5 PM to 6 PM Eastern Time. Online event pages are touting it as Leeming "marking" the 100th anniversary of Baldwin's birth (August 2, 1924).
This 1-hour hybrid event is free and open to the public. No registration is required. Those wanting to join the live stream can do so HERE.
For additional information, send email to Karla Umland at karla[at]stoningtonfreelibrary[dot]org.
Video Explorations of Beauford's Life and Art
I recently learned that Beauford's biographer, David A. Leeming, will soon be featured in a livestreamed interview during which he will talk about the relationship between Beauford and James Baldwin.
The news inspired me to look for videos that explore this relationship and other aspects of Beauford's life, and I found more than I expected.
Below are a few short (less than 5-minute) recordings that present various perspectives on his life and art.
"Remembering Knoxville-born Artist Beauford Delaney" gives a brief overview of Beauford's life, focusing on his Knoxville origin.
"MIA Highlight: Beauford Delaney, Untitled, 1954" presents Beauford's famous "raincoat painting," focusing on the abstract nature of this work.
"#FallenThroughTheCracks: Black Artists in History - Beauford Delaney" beautifully and succinctly summarizes Beauford's development as an artist.
"Portrait of James Baldwin by Beauford Delaney" presents the 1945 oil portrait of Baldwin held by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Finally, the Knoxville Museum of Art obtained permission from INA France to present this ~1-minute video of rare footage of Beauford being interviewed in his Clamart studio on the KMA Facebook page.
Click on the image below to view it.
Beauford's Paris: Rue des Anglais
I don't know if Beauford ever visited the rue des Anglais in Paris.
What I do know is that his several of his paintings "lived" there for a period of time after he was committed to Sainte-Anne's Hospital.
© Entrée to Black Paris
David Leeming wrote about this in his biography called Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney:
...Baldwin went to Paris hoping to find a way of arranging for Beauford's permanent care. His first act was to find—at his expense—a new apartment for the storage of Beauford's paintings and for the painter's use should he recover. The apartment was in the rue d'Anglais, near an apartment Baldwin hoped to rent or buy for himself.
I was inspired to write this post after a lengthy Facebook communication with author David Yeats. I posted this image of a painting by Khalif Tahir Thompson, and Yeats commented that he recognized Beauford's portrait of James Baldwin on the wall behind Thompson's brilliant portrayal of Baldwin.
Khalif Tahir Thompson
2020 mixed media
Image from FB - Fair use claim
(1971) Oil on canvas
Bequest of James Baldwin
Image courtesy of Clark Atlanta University Art Galleries
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Yeats told me that he mentions Beauford in his novel, The Opal Causeway, in a scene where two young boys are talking about art in a library and one of them says he thinks he recognizes a Beauford Delaney painting.
Yeats lived at 12, rue des Anglais in April 1975, which was about the time Beauford went to Sainte-Anne's. He knew Baldwin and Baldwin's dear friend, Bernard Hassell. He mentioned that Hassell lived on rue des Anglais and that Beauford's paintings were stored in a flat in the same building. He said the door of that flat had a huge seal on it.
While he couldn't remember the exact address of the building, Yeats described it as being "on the left coming from the direction of bd. Saint Germain." He thought the building might have been at Number 8.
I decided to go to the rue des Anglais to photograph the buildings as they look today.
© Entrée to Black Paris
© Entrée to Black Paris
© Entrée to Black Paris
© Entrée to Black Paris
© Entrée to Black Paris
© Entrée to Black Paris
© Entrée to Black Paris
© Entrée to Black Paris
© Entrée to Black Paris
I have asked the Beauford Delaney estate whether it knows the exact address of the storage flat, and they have initiated a search of the Beauford Delaney Papers at UTKnoxville to find this information.
I will update this post once the search is completed.
Swann Auction Galleries Sells Beauford Delaney Abstract
On April 4, 2024, Swann Auction Galleries auctioned a Beauford Delaney abstract that was shown at the itinerant Minneapolis Institute of Arts exhibition entitled Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris.
Untitled
(circa 1956) Gouache, watercolor and charcoal on wove paper
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
It was most likely created during Beauford's first year at his Clamart studio.
The composition of this work reminds me of a much later abstract, which was done in different colors and which Swann successfully auctioned in October 2017.
Untitled (Abstract Composition)
(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
For me, both works evoke James Baldwin's quote about a window at the studio:
There was a window in Beauford's house in Clamart before which we often sat—late at night, early in the morning, at noon. This window looked out on a garden; or rather, it would have looked out on a garden if it had not been for the leaves and branches of a large tree which pressed directly against the window.The estimated sale price of the c. 1956 gouache was $30,000 - $40,000.
Everything one saw from this window, then, was filtered through these leaves...
Beauford Potpourri 3
The Art Story - Beauford Delaney
The Art Story has published a thoughtful and easily digestible summary of Beauford's life and artistic influence.
Beginning with his birth date, death date, and a timeline,
it is presented in six sections:
- Summary
- Accomplishments
- Important Art
- Biography
- Influences and Connections
- Useful Resources
It even mentions Les Amis de Beauford Delaney at the end of the biography section!
University of Tennessee Humanities Center Director Amy J. Elias wrote a scintillating evaluation of an untitled 1969 tempura work on paper that was shown in the Transcending Race & Time exhibition at the UT Downtown Gallery in 2020-2021.
Beauford used the front page of the May 24-25, 1969 edition of the International Herald Tribune as the support medium for this work, deliberately choosing to paint over the article published about the 1969 Greensboro Uprising.
Letters Reveal Beauford Delaney and Palmer Hayden’s Lifelong Friendship
This brief article presents images of correspondence by Palmer and Miriam Hayden that mentions Beauford as well as a letter that Beauford wrote to his brother, Joseph Delaney. It includes an image of paintings by Beauford and Hayden that were shown in proximity during the Dirty South exhibition that was hosted by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AK in 2022.
(1941) Oil on paperboard
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The third link at the end of this article leads to a recording of an excellent conversation between Kristi McMillan, Director of Learning and Engagement at the Asheville Art Museum in North Carolina, and Dr. Mary Campbell, Professor of Art History at the University of Tennessee Knoxville regarding the Through the Unusual Door exhibition that was mounted by the Knoxville Museum of Art in 2020 and the Beauford Delaney's Metamorphosis into Freedom exhibition mounted by the Asheville Art Museum in 2021.
To read previously published Beauford Potpourri articles, click on the links below.
Beauford Delaney Research Grant 2023/2024
Kelly-Christina Grant, an art history doctoral candidate at the University of Paris Nanterre, is the 2023/2024 winner of the Bourse Beauford Delaney-Villa Albertine (Beauford Delaney Research Grant).
Supported by the Ford Foundation, this grant funds travel and other expenses related to research projects on African-American art undertaken by France-based academics and scholars.
Grant's project, L’Atlantique noire de Loïs Mailou Jones (The Black Atlantic of Loïs Mailou Jones), examines "the political, social, gender, and racial issues surrounding Jones’ practice of landscape painting."
LinkedIn Photo
This work is also the focus of her Terra Foundation for American Art predoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Beauford and Jones met during Beauford's Boston years. Jones was a student at the Boston Museum School at the time, and Beauford had established himself in the city with the support of Knoxville artist Lloyd Branson. While it is not clear how well the two knew each other, they both frequented Boston's museums and the Ford Hall Forum on Boyleston Street. Both took classes at the Massachusetts Normal Art School (aka Boston Normal Art School).
Both artists were also masters at landscape painting.
(1945) Oil on canvas
Image by Manu Sasoonian, from Amazing Grace
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Loïs Mailou Jones
(ca 1948) Oil on canvas
Smithsonian American Art Institute
Grant had the following to say about Beauford and his work:
Like Loïs Mailou Jones, Beauford Delaney was an extraordinary colorist whose art spanned many styles and who captured on canvas the mood of the places who inspired him the most, from New York to Paris. He's a major Modernist painter in the history of American art.
Read Grant's research article entitled "African-American Women Artists in French Public Collections: Acquisitions from the 1970s to the Present Day" by clicking HERE.
A Chance Meeting Features Beauford's Art on Cover
Rachel Cohen is a Beauford Delaney aficionada and a superb writer.
She send me the following message a few days ago:
I am delighted that New York Review of Books Classics is reissuing my first book A Chance Meeting at its 20th anniversary. The book traces more than a century of encounters among American writers and artists. The new edition has a wonderful Beauford Delaney cover, a forward by Vijay Seshadri and a new afterword by me, and it goes on sale tomorrow, March 19th. The book is NYRB's March book of the month; information and a way to purchase are here.
The artwork that graces the cover of the latest edition of Cohen's book is Untitled (Village Street Scene), (1948) Oil on canvas.
Since 2014, Les Amis has published five articles that feature Cohen's insightful commentary on Beauford's life and art. Her work is a joy to read!
Find links to the articles below.
Rachel Cohen's Tribute to Beauford
Rachel's Musings: Three Articles about Beauford
Stephen Wicks and Rachel Cohen Discuss Baldwin Portrait: Part 1
Stephen Wicks and Rachel Cohen Discuss Baldwin Portrait: Part 2
Beauford's Red, Yellow, Orange Sold by Christie's
Christie's Paris sold Beauford's Red, Yellow, Orange during its Post-War to Present auction on March 13, 2024.
Red, Yellow, Orange
(1963) Gouache on paper
signed, inscribed and dated 'Beauford Delaney Paris 1963' (lower right)
signed again and stamped with the Estate of Beauford Delaney stamp 'Beauford Delaney' (on the reverse)
25 ½ x 19 ½ in. (64.8 x 49.5 cm.)
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
The estimated sale price was $40,000 - $60,000.
The piece sold for $47,880, including a 26% buyer's premium.
To see other Beauford Delaney works that feature the color "orange," click on the link below:
Beauford and the Color "Orange"Christie's to Auction Beauford Delaney Work on Paper
On March 13, 2024, Christie's Paris will host its Post-War to Present auction.
Beauford's Red, Yellow, Orange will be among the works available for purchase.
Red, Yellow, Orange
(1963) Gouache on paper
signed, inscribed and dated 'Beauford Delaney Paris 1963' (lower right)
signed again and stamped with the Estate of Beauford Delaney stamp 'Beauford Delaney' (on the reverse)
25 ½ x 19 ½ in. (64.8 x 49.5 cm.)
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
This work was shown at the Beauford Delaney: Internal Light exhibition mounted by Levis Fine Art in May-June 2013.
In 1963, Beauford was under the care of the renowned psychiatrist Dr. Gaston Ferdière.
Biographer David Leeming writes that "With Dr. Ferdière's help Beauford was exploring himself more profoundly than he had been willing to do in the past."
He also writes that Spring 1963 "brought a new burst of painting and a concentrated attempt to translate the 'long interims of probity into our thoughts' into paintings 'which are never what our inner vision expected.'"
I wonder whether the fiery nature of Red, Yellow, Orange is a representation of this effort.
The estimated sale price of Red, Yellow, Orange is $40,000 – $60,000.
For information about the auction, click HERE.
KMA Loans Beauford Delaney Works to National and International Venues
From the desk of Stephen Wicks, Barbara A. and Bernard E. Bernstein Curator at the Knoxville Museum of Art:
The Knoxville Museum of Art is pleased to be able to support loan requests from several museums wishing to borrow works from the KMA’s extensive holdings by Knoxville-born modernist master Beauford Delaney.
Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN, March 2024-March 2025
Exhibition summary: Two works on paper by Beauford Delaney for display in the museum’s collection galleries. The Hunter owns no works by the artist and its curatorial team is hopeful this year-long loan will help them generate additional support for a Delaney acquisition.
Art work:
Watercolor and gouache on paper, 25 ½ x 19 ½ inches
Knoxville Museum of Art, 2015 purchase with funds provided by
the Rachael Patterson Young Art Acquisition Reserve
© The Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Untitled (Yellow, Red, and Black Circles for James Baldwin, Istanbul), 1966
Watercolor and gouache on paper, 25 5/8 x 19 inches
Knoxville Museum of Art, 2018 Beauford Delaney Acquisition
© The Estate of Beauford Delaney
by Permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Americans in Paris exhibition/tour, March 2024-June 2025:
- Grey Art Museum/NYU, March 2-mid-July 2024
- Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA, September 2024-January 2025
- NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, February-June 2025
Blue-Light Abstraction, circa 1962
Oil on canvas, 25 3/4 x 21 1/2 inches
Knoxville Museum of Art, 2018 Beauford Delaney Acquisition
© The Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Paris Noir exhibition, March 19-June 30, 2025
Untitled (African Figure), circa 1968
Oil and watercolor monoprint on paper, 25 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches
Knoxville Museum of Art, 2018 Beauford Delaney Acquisition
© The Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Scattered Light, 1964
Oil on canvas, 39 x 24 inches
Knoxville Museum of Art,
2015 purchase with funds provided by
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
While promoting the KMA’s Delaney collection, these loans are an important means of supporting important museum exhibitions organized by distinguished colleagues, and bringing Beauford Delaney’s extraordinary life and work to the attention of museum audiences around the world.
The Delaney Museum at Beck Needs You
Several days ago, Beck Cultural Exchange Center president Reneé Kesler gave a poignant interview to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
She explained that progress on the renovation of the Delaney family home, which is adjacent to the Beck Cultural Exchange Center and destined to become the Delaney Museum at Beck, has been much delayed due to skyrocketing expenses ...
... and has kicked off a new round of fundraising to bring in the additional $2.3 million required to complete the project.
Les Amis has written about the Delaney Museum at Beck a few times:
Groundbreaking for the Delaney Museum at Beck
The Delaney Museum at Beck: Groundbreaking Ceremony Scheduled for August 30
The Art of Delaney: Redeeming, Reconciling, and Healing
The Wells International Foundation, the U.S. nonprofit organization that mounted the Resonance of Form and Vibration of Color exhibition in Paris in collaboration with Les Amis in 2016, looks forward to hosting events that focus on Beauford's artistic practice as a tool for combatting his mental instability in Knoxville soon after the museum's opening.
The new projected opening date is May 15, 2025.
To support the fundraising campaign for the Delaney Museum at Beck, click HERE.
Living an Inner Life and Learning
"I work and live an inner life and learn."
Biographer David Leeming quotes Beauford as saying this in a letter to Larry Wallrich that he dated February 2, 1957.
Upon reading this, I decided to look for works by Beauford that are dated 1957.
I found surprisingly few of them.
Monique and Beauford's Untitled
(1957) Oil on canvas
114,2 x 162 cm / 44.9 x 63.8 in
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
Photo © Discover Paris!
(c. 1957) Oil on canvas board
© Estate of Beauford Delaney
by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire,
Court Appointed Administrator
What was Beauford living and learning at this period of his life?
By early 1957, he had lived a year at the Clamart studio. During this time, he "returned seriously to portrait painting" and began working with Paul Facchetti and Darthea Speyer to sell his art.
He sent paintings to be shown at the First New York Exposition of Progress - an event that touted the progress of the Negro - at the Wanamaker Building in Manhattan, contributed works to a group show for "Abstract American" artists at the Galerie Arnaud, and had his first solo exhibition at the Galerie Prisme.
Illustrated double-sided flier (recto)
Fair use claim
To combat depression, he read Buddhist writings, enjoyed the company of friends, and painted.