Description

“I learned about light from Beauford Delaney,” writer James Baldwin wrote about his mentor, remembering that the painter taught him how to see the world around him. Delaney, having moved to New York from Tennessee, began exhibiting street scenes and portraits of jazz musicians. But even in bohemian enclaves, the challenges of being gay, black, and perpetually impoverished caused endless struggle and depression. Settling eventually in Paris, Delaney moved toward an increasingly expressionist, abstract style. Intense light, often portrayed by brilliant hues of Van Gogh–inspired yellow, became a motif for abstractions and portraits alike.The 1963 pastel of Baldwin is chromatically complex, the yellow darkened by harsh greens, violets, and reds. The image captures the emotional intensity of Baldwin and Delaney’s lifelong relationship. The portrait of Baldwin conflates the slender youth with the mature man, expressing the artist’s memories, anxiety, pain, and devotion over time.

Record Contributed By

National Portrait Gallery

Record Harvested From

Smithsonian Institution