Summer Shows: 18 Museum Exhibitions Showcase Array of Black Artists, From Zanele Muholi, Frank Walter and Calida Rawles to Tyler Mitchell, Michael Thorpe & Arthur Jafa
SOME OF SUMMER’S MOST INTERESTING museum exhibitions are historic, presenting the first institutional solo shows of artists spanning generations. The selections include the first U.S. solo museum exhibitions of Frank Walter (1926–2009) at The Drawing Center in New York, Leilah Babirye at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, and Calida Rawles at Pérez Art...
Marian Anderson’s Famed Concert on the Steps of the Lincoln Memorial Occurred Easter Sunday in 1939, Several Artists Have Captured the Historic Moment
ROBERT S. SCURLOCK, Marian Anderson’s Easter concert at the Lincoln Memorial, April 9, 1939 (negative). | Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution FROM THE STEPS of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Marian Anderson (1897-1993) gave a memorable concert on April 9, 1939. The contralto singer opened with...
Latest News in Black Art: LACMA Acquires Beauford Delaney Painting, First-Ever New York Art Week, Installations by Fred Wilson and Rashid Johnson at LaGuardia & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture BEAUFORD DELANEY, “Negro Man (Claude McKay),” 1944 ( oil on canvas, 19.12 x 16.25 inches / 48.6 x 41.3 cm). | Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of the 2022 Collectors Committee with additional...
October Openings: 26 U.S. Museum Exhibitions Feature Betye Saar, Conrad Egyir, Jennifer Packer, ‘Afro-Atlantic Histories,’ Plus Prospect 5 New Orleans, and More
NEW U.S. ART MUSEUM and institutional exhibitions opening in October include solo shows of Conrad Egyir in San Jose, Betye Saar in Miami, Thaddeus Mosley in Baltimore, and Jennifer Packer in New York. A visit to the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., will make efficient use of your time, with three must-see shows opening...
On View: ‘Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney’ at Michael Rosenfeld Gallery in New York City
Installation view of “Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney” On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions A RARE OPPORTUNITY to view a broad selection of portraits by Beauford Delaney (1901–1979), this exhibition features a 1962 self portrait and two dozen paintings of people in the Delaney’s orbit. The selection includes...
Amy Sherald Painting Skyrockets to Record-Setting $4.2 Million at Phillips, Works by 4 More Black Artists Set New Benchmarks
A DOUBLE PORTRAIT by Amy Sherald set an astronomic new auction record Dec. 7 at Phillips New York. “The Bathers” (2015) soared to $4,265,000 against a low-six figure estimate of $150,000-$200,000. The painting sold for about 20 times its high estimate with bidding ongoing for 15 minutes. “The Bathers” was the first lot in...
Knoxville Museum of Art Explores ‘Intellectual Exchange’ Between Artist Beauford Delaney and Writer James Baldwin
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...
Works by Alma Thomas, Charles White, and Beauford Delaney Among Highlights at Christie’s Contemporary Sale
SPRING IS A RECURRING THEME in the abstract paintings of Alma Thomas (1891-1978), who lived and worked in Washington, D.C. Her rhythmic compositions were inspired by the rustling leaves on the Holly Tree outside the bay window in the front room of her home. Thomas also visited the National Arboretum to “get impressions,” as...
Georgia O’Keeffe Made 5 Portraits of Beauford Delaney, 1 is For Sale at Christie’s
EVENTUALLY HER SUBJECTS WERE flowers, bones, and the New Mexico landscape, the modern images for which she is best known. But over the course of her career, Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) also made a limited number of portraits. Beauford Delaney (1901-1979) was her most frequent sitter. She made five portraits of the artist—three charcoal drawings,...
Early Rashid Johnson Photograph Covers Swann’s Fall African American Art Catalog
“Jonathan with Hands” (1997) by Rashid Johnson A DRAMATICALLY LIT, close-cropped portrait by Rashid Johnson covers the catalog for the African-American Fine Art sale at Swann Auction Galleries on Oct. 4. Johnson’s subject obscures his face with his hands, which are the focus of the image. The gesture is emotional and his fingers—their knuckles...
Record-Setting African American Art Auction Gives Swann Galleries Highest-Ever Sales Total in Company History
BEAUFORD DELANEY, “Untitled (Village Street Scene),” 1948 APPLAUSE SWEPT THROUGH THE SALESROOM when a colorful mid-career canvas by Norman Lewis soared to $725,000*, three times the estimate. Bidders also clapped when a village street scene painted by Beauford Delaney (above) and “O Freedom,” a large-scale charcoal and crayon drawing by Charles White reached half...
Knoxville Museum of Art Acquires 12 Beauford Delaney Works, Plans Major Exhibition in 2019
BEAUFORD DELANEY, “Portrait of James Baldwin,” 1944 FORTY YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH, Beauford Delaney’s hometown museum plans a major exhibition dedicated to his work. Since 2014, the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) has been amassing a collection works by the artist. On Feb. 1, the museum announced the purchase of 12 paintings, drawings, and...
Auction Results: Painting is Alive and Well at Latest Swann African-American Fine Art Sale
“Flight Into Egypt” (circa 1910) by Henry O. Tanner BUYERS AT THURSDAY’S African-American Fine Art auction at Swann Auction Galleries in New York expressed significant interest in modern and contemporary painting. There was a broad selection to choose from with multiple offerings by celebrated painters Ed Clark, Beauford Delaney, Sam Gilliam, Lois Mailou Jones,...
May Exhibitions: Mark Bradford Reps U.S. at Venice Biennale, Martine Syms at MoMA, Plus Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Pope.L, Beauford Delaney, Kehinde Wiley, and More
MUST-SEE EXHIBITIONS featuring some of the most interesting black female artists working today are opening around the world this month. The first solo museum show of Los Angeles-based Martine Syms opens May 27 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In the same city, an amazing show of new portrait paintings by British...
Schomburg Acquires James Baldwin Archive, Including Letters to Artist Beauford Delaney Who Painted Many Portraits of the Writer
Embed from Getty Images DURING HIS LIFETIME, James Baldwin (1924-1987) had a lot to say. His insightful observations and thoughtful, sometimes fiery, words about race, civil rights, and the American paradigm resonate 30 years after his death. The recent Oscar-nominated documentary “I Am Not Your Negro,” which is based on an unpublished Baldwin manuscript,...
Fund for African American Art Transforming Brooklyn Museum’s Holdings, Will Honor Collector Pamela J. Joyner at Annual Benefit
THE FUND FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN ART at the Brooklyn Museum is honoring collector Pamela J. Joyner at its annual benefit March 16. The fund concentrates on gifts and purchases of pre-1945 works by important African American artists. Recent acquisitions include “Woman with Bouquet” (circa 1940) by Laura Wheeler Waring, Beauford Delaney’s 1945 “Untitled (Fang,...
Retrospective: The Latest News in Black Art – Hamza Walker to Head LAXART, National Medal of Arts Announced
RETROSPECTIVE is a review of the latest news and happenings related to art by and about people of African descent, with a few nods to culture thrown in. This week, highlights include news that President Obama created a national monument, will honor artists Jack Whitten and Ralph Lemon with the National Medal of Arts, and...
The Year in Black Art: January 2015
CULTURE TYPE IS REVIEWING The Year in Black Art 2015 in monthly installments over the coming weeks. The report began with a look at The Newsmakers, seven artists and curators who continue to advance their practices and their projects with fresh approaches and new ideas—effort thats are recognized and often garner significant news coverage. The...
Ebay Live Auctions Debut with Swann African American Art
BROWSING EBAY, LOTS FEATURING Hale Woodruff, Alma Thomas, Jacob Lawrence and Kara Walker appear. Better known for selling collectibles, resale designer clothing and used books and magazines, eBay is launching a live bidding product with several New York auction galleries today. An offering of African American Fine Art at Swann Galleries is the debut...
