Renowned artist’s sketches, letters, other items on display at Hodges Library
By QWill
Rarely do I find myself stepping into the role of an art critic as I go about living my everyday life. Yet acute feelings of intrigue and wonder (that only a critic could feel) set in one day as I walked through the second floor of the University of Tennessee’s Hodges Library.
Here, situated to the right of the atrium floor, were four glass cases encapsulating the working world of Knoxville-born artist Beauford Delaney. After only a brief stroll through the exhibit, I could tell that this was a man who had a life story worth learning more about.
I started by reaching out to the curator, Kris Bronstad, modern political archivist and associate professor at UT, who guided me through the collection. Back in 2021, the library had purchased collections of Delaney’s papers from the Knoxville Museum of Art, where they were originally being held on estate. Bronstad and other members of UT Library’s Special Collections team (like graduate assistant Katrina Stack) spent a long summer consolidating all of the documents, letters, sketches and a plethora of other items from his life into a single story, on display in this new exhibit.
Before visiting and residing in several artistic hotspots around the world, Delaney would spend the first part of his life (1901-1923) in Knoxville. He was the product of a large family – one of 10 kids raised by his minister/barber father and seamstress mother. Delaney eventually landed an apprenticeship under another Knoxville painter, Lloyd Branson, and he began to adopt his mentor’s impressionist style while emerging as a standout in the local art scene.
Delaney moved to Boston to attend school before settling in New York City in 1929. The latter was truly the right place at the right time for the artist, who soon found himself playing an active role in the Harlem Renaissance alongside other Black artists, musicians and other notable luminaries that were chasing new heights of creative expression and success after the conclusion of World War I.
Inspiration was abundant within the African American creative community, no matter the art form. As a result, Delaney regularly attended the jazz clubs of Harlem and Greenwich Village to capture the vibrant players and energy of the scene. Some of his most memorable pieces were portraits of jazz greats like Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald. They go far beyond an illustration of a song being sung or a musician in the act of playing. Free lines, loose figures and a blending of objects in Delaney’s sketches conspired in depicting the feelings and energy of all that was in the room. Much like the style of jazz itself, Delaney’s artistry thrived in this free, abstract world of New York in the 1940s.
Also at this time, Delaney had his first encounter with writer James Baldwin, with whom he instantly bonded. The two found solace in their unique similarities of being gay, Black men raised by preachers, a viewpoint that often came up when they wrote to each other to discuss art, travel and life in general. Both Baldwin and Delaney would end up moving to Paris at different points later in life (Baldwin at 24, Delaney at 50) to seek artistic inspiration.
Delaney was, to Baldwin, “living proof that a Black man could be an artist” – a quote that serves as a testament to just how much of an impact the older artist had on the young writer, who became a legend in his own right. Delaney would remain in Paris until his death in 1979, which resulted from mental health problems and the likely onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
I am so glad to have stumbled upon this exhibit and to have had the chance to write about it in my first article for BLANK. Overall, it was an enlightening experience to learn about a man whose interests in the world collided with many of my own: bright colors, jazz music, world travel and even art, on occasion.
After doing some research and giving the exhibit a second look, I could see how outsiders may view his work as not ‘polished’ or ‘sophisticated’ enough to be seen as true art. But then again, what is art to begin with? The answer (to me at least) is anything. Especially once you learn the story/reason behind it, which in this case, you certainly need in order to appreciate the art of Beauford Delaney.
I want to end with an excerpt from the Paris section of the exhibit: “Beauford Delaney’s contemporary champions knew his art was ahead of its time. While he never achieved the luminary status or broad audience … his talent was seen – and heralded – by some of the art world’s most elite circles.”
Join me in appreciating Delaney’s life and work by visiting the limited-time exhibit, open until May, located on the second floor of Hodges Library. Additionally, there is an entire blog devoted to Delaney from Paris native Monique Wells.
