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Beaufort Delaney lived and worked in Paris for many years from 1953 therefore his work had been somewhat neglected until a retrospective in 1978 at the Studio Museum in Harlem. In the foreword from the catalog Beauford Delaney: A Retrospective Mary Schmidt Campbell writes that "His works had been "stored" in his Parisian apartment; but, in the course of his absence, his expenses mounted and the French government, in an effort to collect delinquent accounts, sealed off his apartment and prepared to auction off the works, the life product of a forty year career. Had the works been sold, dispersed throughout Europe, the neglect may have been irreversible. The story of the rescue of the paintings exemplifies the need for the Studio Museum's Black Masters series."
Delaney was born in Knoxville, Tenn., in 1901 (his brother Joseph (1904-1991) was also a painter). Early in life he showed skill in drawing and Lloyd Branson gave him some instruction. Delaney studied at the Massachusetts Normal School and later at the South Boston School of Art and the Copley Society. He journeyed to New York during the Harlem Renaissance acquiring a reputation as a pastel portraitist. Some of his works were exhibited at the Whitney Studio Gallery in 1930.
Beauford lived an unsettling life as an artist and was in constant need of funds to continue his work and studies. Beauford was known for his commanding high spirit and charm. He therefore attracted lots of friends and patrons willing to support his free spirit as an expressive artist. Beauford managed to meet, sketch, or paint a host of celebrities.
By 1929, Beauford had moved to Harlem, New York. The HARLEM RENAISSANCE was in full bloom. Beauford got to know COUNTEE CULLEN, W.E.B. DUBOIS, LOUIS ARMSTRONG, DUKE ELLINGTON, ETHEL WATERS, HENRY MILLER, and JAMES BALDWIN and others. He worked as part of the Harlem Artists Guild and worked at the studio of CHARLES ALSTON. It was at GREENWICH VILLAGE where he got to feel totally at home with the people and other artists. In the late 1950's, Beauford was able to reach PARIS, FRANCE due to the beneficence of a friend. Although many of Beauford Delaney's works were close to being classified as abstract art, he never fully wanted this distinction. Beauford Delaney's life and struggle as an aging American artist living in Paris ended at age 78 from alcoholism and Alzheimer's Disease on March 26, 1979. The "Dean of African-American Artists Living in Europe" was buried in his favorite place -- PARIS, FRANCE.
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