On View: ‘In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney’ at The Drawing Center in New York Explores Centrality of Drawing in Artist’s Practice

Installation view of “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney,” The Drawing Center, New York, N.Y. (May 30-Sept. 14, 2025). | Photo by Daniel Terna, Courtesy The Drawing Center © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator

On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions

PORTRAITS, CITYSCAPES, AND ABSTRACTION. “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney” is a four-decade survey showcasing the spectrum of subjects and styles in which the artist expressed himself over the course of his career. Born in Knoxville, Tenn., Beauford Delaney (1901-1979) studied art in Boston, then moved to New York in 1929 at the height of the Harlem Renaissance. In 1953, he went to Paris and spent the rest of his life in the French capital.

“In the Medium” is the first major museum exhibition of Delaney in New York in 30 years and the first to focus on his drawings, a central aspect of his artistic practice that has gone understudied. About 90 works are on view at The Drawing Center in New York City, mostly works on paper made with charcoal, ink, pen and pencil, pastels, watercolor, and gouache. The show also includes a few paintings and archival materials, such as letters, exhibition brochures, documentary photographs, and press clippings.

The exhibition features works produced between 1929 to 1971. The earliest is a 1929 drawing of a “Harlem Athlete” rendered in profile. The charcoal portrait hangs above a vitrine of archival materials, including the announcement for an “Exhibit of Portrait Sketches by Beauford DeLaney” held at the 135 Street Branch of the New York Public Library, which is now Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. “Harlem Athlete” is illustrated on the 1930 announcement. The presentation was Delaney’s first solo exhibition in New York and the checklist was all drawings—10 charcoal portraits and five pastels. CT

“In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney” is on view at The Drawing Center, New York, N.Y., from May 30–Sep 14, 2025

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BEAUFORD DELANEY, Self-Portrait, 1964 (watercolor, gouache, and graphite on paper, 29 3/4 x 22 1/4 inches / 75.6 x 56.5 cm). | Photo credit: Knoxville Museum of Art

Installation view of “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney,” The Drawing Center, New York, N.Y. (May 30-Sept. 14, 2025). | Photo by Daniel Terna, Courtesy The Drawing Center © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator

BEAUFORD DELANEY, Untitled, circa 1960 (watercolor and gouache on paper, 25 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches / 64.8 x 49.5 cm). | Photo credit: Knoxville Museum of Art

Installation view of “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney,” The Drawing Center, New York, N.Y. (May 30-Sept. 14, 2025). | Photo by Daniel Terna, Courtesy The Drawing Center © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator

BEAUFORD DELANEY, James Baldwin, 1945 (pastel on paper, 23.5 x 18.5 inches / 59.7 x 47 cm). | Photo credit: Ben Conant

Installation view of “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney,” The Drawing Center, New York, N.Y. (May 30-Sept. 14, 2025). | Photo by Daniel Terna, Courtesy The Drawing Center © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator

BEAUFORD DELANEY, “Yaddo,” 1950 (pastel on paper, 18 x 24 inches / 45.7 x 61 cm). | Photo credit: Knoxville Museum of Art

Installation view of “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney,” The Drawing Center, New York, N.Y. (May 30-Sept. 14, 2025). | Photo by Daniel Terna, Courtesy The Drawing Center © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator

BEAUFORD DELANEY, Untitled (Abstract Circles), circa 1956 (pastel and mixed media on paper, 25 1/4 x 19 1/2 inches / 64.1 x 49.5 cm). | Photo credit: Knoxville Museum of Art

BEAUFORD DELANEY, Self-Portrait, circa 1963 (charcoal and pastel on newsprint, 14 1/4 x 18 3/4 inches / 36.2 x 47.6 cm). | Photo credit: Knoxville Museum of Art

Photograph of Beauford Delaney in his NYC Studio, 1940. | Photo credit: Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Installation view of “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney,” The Drawing Center, New York, N.Y. (May 30-Sept. 14, 2025). Shown, “Harlem Athlete,” 1929 (charcoal on laid paper, 19 5/8 x 14 3/4 inches / 49.8 x 37.5 cm). | Photo by Daniel Terna, Courtesy The Drawing Center © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator

Installation view of “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney,” The Drawing Center, New York, N.Y. (May 30-Sept. 14, 2025). Shown, top right, “Harlem Athlete” (1929) featured on Announcement with checklist for “Exhibit of Portrait Sketches by Beauford DeLaney,” May 1-June 1, 1930, 135 Street Branch of the New York Public Library, New York, N.Y. (now Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture). | Photo by Daniel Terna, Courtesy The Drawing Center © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator

Installation view of “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney,” The Drawing Center, New York, N.Y. (May 30-Sept. 14, 2025). | Photo by Daniel Terna, Courtesy The Drawing Center © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator

BEAUFORD DELANEY, “Untitled (West African Figurine),” early 1960s (ink on foil wrapper, 6 1/2 x 4 inches / 16.5 x 10.2 cm). | Photo credit: Knoxville Museum of Art

Installation view of “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney,” The Drawing Center, New York, N.Y. (May 30-Sept. 14, 2025). | Photo by Daniel Terna, Courtesy The Drawing Center © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator

BEAUFORD DELANEY, Untitled, 1961 (gouache on paper, 19 3/4 x 26 inches / 50.2 x 66 cm) | Courtesy The Drawing Center

BEAUFORD DELANEY, Untitled, circa 1940 (pastel on laid paper, 23 3/4 x 18 3/4 inches / 60.3 x 47.6 cm). | Courtesy The Drawing Center

Installation view of “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney,” The Drawing Center, New York, N.Y. (May 30-Sept. 14, 2025). | Photo by Daniel Terna, Courtesy The Drawing Center © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator

BEAUFORD DELANEY, “Untitled (New York City),” circa 1948 (watercolor on paper, 15 1/2 x 22 1/2 inches / 39.4 x 57.2 cm). | Photo credit: Knoxville Museum of Art

BEAUFORD DELANEY, “Mother’s Portrait (aka Portrait of Delia Delaney),” 1964 (oil on canvas, 25 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches / 64.8 x 54 cm). | Courtesy The Drawing Center

Installation view of “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney,” The Drawing Center, New York, N.Y. (May 30-Sept. 14, 2025). | Photo by Daniel Terna, Courtesy The Drawing Center © Estate of Beauford Delaney, by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, Court Appointed Administrator

BOOKSHELF
The Drawing Center produced a new fully illustrated publication to accompany the exhibition. “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney” features contributions by Laura Hoptman, Rebecca DiGiovanna, and Jessica Lynne. The writings consider the role of drawing in Delaney’s practice as well as his biography and its influence on his art and career. A gay Black man, Delaney struggled at home and abroad with the constraints of his identity and staying afloat economically, and experienced bouts of mental health issues. The modest-scaled, 6×9-inch volume is 220 pages. Also consider, “Speculative Light: The Arts of Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin” and “Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin: Through the Unusual Door.” An updated version of “Amazing Grace: Life of Beauford Delaney” by David Leeming includes a new introduction by Hilton Als. The biography of the artist was first published in 1998.