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In 1953, a quest for creative freedom that was unattainable in an America marked by segregation forced Beauford Delaney to leave New York for Paris. This marked the beginning of an artistic and personal transformation for the painter, who was then able to assert his identity as a black, homosexual artist. 'Untitled', 1967 (€100,000 - €150,000) perfectly expresses this fundamental emancipation with its bright yellow, where the impasto seems to dance like tiny sparks on the canvas. This chromatic intensity responds to an intimate quest for ‘eternal light’. Beaufort Delaney, trained in classical painting, was initially known for his deeply human portraits, capturing the essence of black figures such as his friend, the writer James Baldwin. When he decided to join him in Paris, his work evolved under the influence of a freer artistic environment. He then explored the fields of painting with new fervour. In his canvases, yellow is not just a colour: it is a spiritual light, a vital energy, a way of piercing the shadows to discover truth.
1950s Paris was a refuge for the painter, transformed by the Parisian art scene where artists from all over the world came together. Influenced by Colour Field Painting, his works were noticed by the champion of lyrical abstraction Paul Facchetti, who exhibited them in his gallery in 1960. Beauford Delaney in Paris is the story of light transformed into colour and colour transcended by light. His painting rises to the level of meditation, exploring the spaces between figuration and abstraction, between personal and universal experience. Through this prism, he defines a visual language in which every nuance, every sparkle speaks of hope and resilience, reinvention and liberation.
