NEW YORK: Beauford Delaney

Beauford Delaney, Waning Light: Abstraction, 1963 (detail), Oil on Canvas, 51 x 38 inches. Image via levisfineart.com.

Beauford Delaney: Internal Light

Selections from his Paris period (1953-1972)

May 9 – June 15, 2013

LEVIS FINE ART

514 West 24^th Street

New York, NY

Levis Fine Art is proud to represent the estate of Beauford Delaney with the exhibition Beauford Delaney: Internal Light. An extraordinary output of artistic expression, many of these historically significant paintings have not been viewed since the artist’s landmark 1978 exhibition, Beauford Delaney: A Retrospective was held at the Studio Museum in Harlem.

It is broadly recognized that Delaney’s Paris works are among the most significant to his body of work. A number of this Paris-period works to be shown were rescued from Delaney’s apartment shortly before his death. About to be seized by the French Government and auctioned to satisfy delinquent accounts, the paintings were shipped to New York through the efforts of a coterie of the artist’s devoted friends including James Baldwin, Henry Miller, Richard Powell and Richard Long. These paintings would form the core of the 1978 retrospective.

After thirty-five years of uncertain fate, and the enormous efforts over the past seven years by the estate’s court-appointed Administrator, Derek Spratley, many of these estate paintings have been recovered and are being presented for the first time. A fully illustrated color catalog with an essay by New York-based independent curator and art critic, Lily Wei will be available.  

Exhibit Link