THE CREATIVITY of Beauford Delaney (1901-1979) flourished in New York City and Paris. An exhibition at his hometown museum brings attention to a pivotal relationship that thrived in parallel. “Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin: Through the Unusual Door” at the Knoxville Museum of Art explores the nearly four-decade relationship between Delaney and James Baldwin (1924-1987), and sheds light on “the ways their ongoing intellectual exchange shaped one another’s creative output and worldview.” Presenting more than 50 paintings, works on paper, and archival materials, including photographs, sketchbooks, and notebooks, many displayed publicly for the first time, the exhibition visualizes and further examines the connection between the artist and writer documented in several publications over the years. (The Knoxville Museum of Art is temporarily closed until further notice, due to the COVID-19 virus.)   James Baldwin and Beauford Delaney, Paris, circa 1960. | Photographer anonymous. Estate of Beauford Delaney, Knoxville, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator   Born in Knoxville, Tenn., in 1901, Delaney studied art in Boston and moved to New York City in 1929, where he met Baldwin. Known for his figuration and portraits (many of Baldwin), Delaney began transitioning to abstraction in 1950. He … Continue reading Knoxville Museum of Art Explores ‘Intellectual Exchange’ Between Artist Beauford Delaney and Writer James Baldwin