Installation view of “Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney”
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions
A RARE OPPORTUNITY to view a broad selection of portraits by Beauford Delaney (1901–1979), this exhibition features a 1962 self portrait and two dozen paintings of people in the Delaney’s orbit. The selection includes a 1964 portrait of Delia Delaney, the artist’s mother, and three portraits of James Baldwin, with whom he had a close personal and intellectual relationship. Seven abstract works are also on display among the portraits, illuminating the connections and common intentions between the two genres that dominated Delaney’s practice. The presentation is complemented by a special display of ephemera—documentary photographs, correspondence, exhibition brochures, publications, and press clippings—providing a rich biographical backdrop to artist’s visual expression. Dating from 1941 to 1972, the paintings were produced during Delaney’s time in New York and Paris, where he pivoted from portraiture to abstraction. Coming soon, a new fully illustrated publication will document the exhibition. CT
“Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney” is on view at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, N.Y., from Sept. 8-Nov. 13, 2021
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BEAUFORD DELANEY (1901-1979), “Self-Portrait,” 1962 (oil on canvas, 25 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches / 64.8 x 54 cm), Signed. | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
BEAUFORD DELANEY (1901-1979), “Reve,” circa 1958 (oil on canvas, 39 3/8 x 32 inches / 100 x 81.3 cm), Signed. | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
Installation view of “Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney,” Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, N.Y. (Sept. 8-Nov. 13, 2021). | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
BEAUFORD DELANEY (1901-1979), “Dark Rapture (James Baldwin),” 1941 (oil on Masonite, 34 x 28 inches / 86.4 x 71.1 cm), Signed. | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
Installation view of “Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney,” Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, N.Y. (Sept. 8-Nov. 13, 2021). | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
Installation view of “Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney,” Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, N.Y. (Sept. 8-Nov. 13, 2021). | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
BEAUFORD DELANEY (1901-1979), “Untitled (Portrait of a Young Man),” circa 1963 (oil on canvas, 25 3/4 x 21 3/8 inches / 65.4 x 54.3 cm), Estate stamp. | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
Installation view of “Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney,” Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, N.Y. (Sept. 8-Nov. 13, 2021). | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
Installation view of “Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney,” Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, N.Y. (Sept. 8-Nov. 13, 2021). | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
BEAUFORD DELANEY (1901-1979), “Edna Porter,” 1943 (oil on canvas, 36 x 30 inches / 91.4 x 76.2 cm), Signed. | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
Installation view of “Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney,” Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, N.Y. (Sept. 8-Nov. 13, 2021). | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
BEAUFORD DELANEY (1901-1979), “Untitled (aka Abstract White Light),” circa 1965 (oil on canvas, 24 x 19 3/4 inches / 61 x 50.2 cm), Estate stamp. | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
Installation view of “Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney,” Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, N.Y. (Sept. 8-Nov. 13, 2021). | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
Installation view of “Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney,” Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, N.Y. (Sept. 8-Nov. 13, 2021). | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
BEAUFORD DELANEY (1901-1979), “Untitled (Portrait of a Man) (aka Man with Medallion),” circa 1965 (oil on canvas, 25 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches / 64.8 x 54 cm), Estate stamp. | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
Installation view of “Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney,” Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, N.Y. (Sept. 8-Nov. 13, 2021). | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
Installation view of “Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney,” Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, N.Y. (Sept. 8-Nov. 13, 2021). | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
TOP IMAGE: Installation view of “Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney,” Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, N.Y. (Sept. 8-Nov. 13, 2021). | © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, N.Y.
BOOKSHELF
“Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin: Through the Unusual Door” was published to accompany the 2020 exhibition hosted by the Knoxville Museum of Art, the artist’s hometown museum. “Amazing Grace: Life of Beauford Delaney” is a biography of the artist by David Leeming.
