Beauford Delaney (American, 1901–1979)

LOT ID: 67898

Double-sided portrait, 1942

Pastel, on paper

23 х 18 in. cm.

Signed, and dated center right.

Lot description

DRAWINGS ON FRONT AND BACK OF THE SAME SHEET.

Delaney became part of a gay bohemian circle of mainly whites in Greenwich Village in the 1930s. He feared his homosexuality would not be accepted by his Harlem friends and was plagued throughout his life by the pressures of being black and gay in a racist and homophobic society.

A celebrated portraitist of the Harlem Renaissance, Beauford Delaney was known as a free spirit in the African-American community. In the 1920s, he rubbed elbows with the great writers and musicians of the time, including Louis Armstrong and W.E.B. Du Bois. He was a member of the Harlem Artists Guild and after the Depression, like many other artists, received a position with the WPA. Henry Miller found Delaney's tenacity inspiring and wrote an essay about him in 1945.

Moving to Paris in the 1950s, Delaney's mental state became increasingly unstable. He continued to produce work but was eventually institutionalized and died in a hospital for the mentally ill in 1979. His work is in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, The Ewing Gallery at the University of Tennessee and the Clark-Atlanta University Art Gallery.

Literature and Catalogue Raisoneé
Literature and Catalogue Raisoneé
History and Provenance
History and Provenance
Shipping Information
Shipping Information
Shipping Carrier:
FedEx, UPS, Pick-up

Shipping Weight: 20 lbs

Framing: Yes (0 x 0 inches)

Item Location: New York, USA
Payment and Return Policies
Payment and Return Policies
artnet Assurance Policy:
Every artnet Auctions seller has been approved by artnet after a thorough review. All of our sellers are required to accept the following artnet policy: A buyer may return an item purchased through artnet Online Auctions, if the item received is not as described in its listing, or is found to be not authentic.
Please see our full Return Policy for details.

Purchase Now

You are purchasing this lot for US$.*

Click Continue to place your order.

*The purchase now price excludes taxes (if applicable) and a 20% buyer's premium on all lots under US$250,000 and a 10% buyer's premium on all lots with a winning bid or purchase now price of US$250,000 or above.

Purchase Now

Congratulations, you have purchased a lot on artnet Auctions!

Proceed to Items Won >

SmartBid

CONFIRMATION

The artnet SmartBid Service will automatically bid on your behalf up to US$.

artnet SmartBid will immediately meet the reserve price if your maximum bid is over the reserve. If the lot does not have a reserve price, it will immediately bid to the next increment level.

artnet SmartBid will then raise your bid up to your maximum bid by increment. But it will never raise your bid above the reserve price unless other bidders placed competitive bids on the lot.

Click Bid Now to place your bid.

SmartBid

Enter your maximum bid below. It must be US$ or higher:

Maximum bid: US$

*The maximum bid excludes taxes (if applicable) and a 20% buyer's premium on all lots with a winning bid under US$250,000 and a 10% buyer's premium on all lots with a winning bid or purchase now price of US$250,000 or above.

How does bidding work?

SmartBid

Thanks. Your bid has been placed on this lot.

Contact the Specialist

Eric Winkler

Specialist, Modern & Impressionist

New York

(212) 497-9700 ext. 144 144

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Subject

Lot ID

67898

Artist

Beauford Delaney

Title

Double-sided portrait

Message

Contact the Specialist

Your message has been sent successfully. The artnet Auctions specialist for this lot will respond to you shortly.

Beauford Delaney (American, 1901–1979)

LOT ID: 67898

Double-sided portrait, 1942

CONFIRMATION

Eric Winkler

Sales Results for Comparable Works