James Baldwin once called his friend, artist Beauford Delaney, a "spiritual father." Delaney was born in Tennessee, and arrived in New York during the Harlem Renaissance, before following other Black artists to Paris in the 1950s. This summer, The Drawing Center is presenting a new exhibition of Beauford Delaney's drawings, the first New York retrospective of Delaney's work in over thirty years. "In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney" is on view through September 14, and Laura Hoptman, executive director, and Rebecca DiGiovanna, assistant curator, discuss why Delaney's drawings are important to understand his practice.
