Monique Y. Wells is a tireless promoter of the city of Paris, and in particular Black Paris. Her company, Discover Paris!™, was one of the first to offer tours on the topic. Her newest project is an organization dedicated to the memory of Black artist Beauford Delaney—Les Amis de Beauford Delaney. Delaney was an abstract expressionist painter who lived much of his adult life in Paris, and died there. Wells recently discovered his grave in a cemetery just outside of Paris, and collected funds from friends of Delaney to prevent his remains from being exhumed and cremated. Armed with a letter of support from the U.S. Ambassador to France, Charles Rivkin, she now hopes to promote his life and art and to raise enough money to buy a tombstone for Delaney’s gravesite.
If you are in the Chicago area, check out her presentation about the artist at the G. R. N’Namdi Gallery, 110 North Peoria Street, on June 17 at 5:30pm.
So Monique, you have a very impressive resume. Please tell our readers about yourself.
I am an African-American woman from Houston who moved to Paris in 1992. By training, I am a veterinary pathologist and toxicologist. I consult in pre-clinical safety assessment. In addition, my husband and I own and operate a business called Discover Paris!™
Our mission is to share our passion for the city through self-guided itineraries and private, guided tours that dissect the stereotypes that travelers have about Paris. We launched Discover Paris!™ in 1999.
Monique Wells
Monique Wells
What are some of your more unique tours?
One of our special tours is called “Black Images in European Art.” The most popular of these is conducted at the Louvre. This tour allows participants to see how Black people are depicted throughout the centuries, and learn about European history in the process. The images are a direct reflection of the contact that Europe had with Africa, and the changing notions that Europeans had about black people over time. Many would be surprised that you can find Black people depicted in Ancient Greek art, for example. There are numerous images in paintings as well.
Who is Beauford Delaney? How do most people remember him?
Beauford was a man from Knoxville, TN who devoted most of his life to the art of painting. He moved from Knoxville to Boston, from Boston to New York City, and from New York City to Paris, all in the pursuit of his art. I believe that what people who knew Beauford remember most about him was his character. They described him as a Buddha, saintly, beatific. He transcended everything. When you read about him, you will learn about how much people loved him.
Beauford had a very hard life. He was poor all of his life, and even when he had money, he would give it away to people who were less fortunate than him. He suffered from mental illness, which became acutely manifest during the Paris years, and had physical ailments as well. He was diagnosed with acute paranoia in Paris. Alcohol consumption considerably aggravated his condition.
What about his art?
Beauford began as a portraitist and a figurative painter in Boston and NYC. His work progressed toward abstraction during the later New York years. When he moved to Paris in 1953, he moved more fully into abstract expressionism (though he never abandoned portraiture). Something about Paris led him to embrace this style.
Beauford loved the color yellow. He did many paintings that were predominantly yellow during the Paris years.
Self-Portrait, 1944
Why did his art change in Paris?
I think that part of the reason was the light in Paris. You’ll often hear artists talk about the light here. There is something special about it, and Beauford recognized it as soon as he arrived.
What would be considered his most famous piece that he did in Paris?
There is a portrait of James Baldwin at the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian. He also did several self-portraits during the Paris years. One hangs at the Whitney Museum of Art.
If you visit the Beauford Delaney blog, you will find a posting in which I discuss Beauford’s self portraits. Images of two self-portraits are presented and there are links to two others that show readers how his view of himself changed over the years.
Beauford liked to portray himself as having asymmetrical eyes. People who knew him felt that he had a view of something beyond this world, and that this might be the reason that he painted himself this way. They believe that he was portraying this dual vision of his existence.
Who are the artists he is grouped with?
Beauford is grouped with African-American artists who were in Paris after World War II – people such as Ed Clark, Herbert Gentry, Larry Potter and Bill Rivers. There were a lot of African-American artists in Paris at that time, and many of them painted abstract works. One of the reasons African-American artists came to Paris is because they weren’t labeled as Black artists and did not feel pressure to adhere to American ideas of what Black artists should create. They didn’t have to do genre pieces.
Beauford did not want to be classified as African-American artist, or even as an American artist. He simply wanted to be known as an artist.
Where can I buy some of his pieces?
The Michael Rosenfeld Gallery in Manhattan owns the largest number of Delaneys. You can also purchase his work at the G. R. N’Namdi Gallery. Beauford’s art is becoming increasing valuable. He is becoming known as one of the best abstract expressionists of the 20th century.
James Baldwin by Beauford Delaney
James Baldwin by Beauford Delaney
What was typical day like for Beauford Delaney?
I know that when he wasn’t painting, he spent a lot of time in cafes. In Montparnasse, he liked the Select, the Dome, and the Coupole. He also liked the Petit Suisse near the Luxembourg Garden. I have seen a painting that he did of the interior of one café, presumably near where he lived in Montparnasse.
What about his friends?
They loved Beauford and they took care of him. There was always somebody who would come to his rescue in times of need. There is story after story about how people helped Beauford, from sending him money to arranging for his medical and psychiatric care.
So you have a consulting business and a travel planning service. With all this stuff going on, why on earth would you start a new organization, Les Amis de Beauford Delaney?
I found out about Beauford Delaney because of Discover Paris!™. I do a lot of writing to promote Discover Paris!™ and I had read about him while researching our Discover African-American History in Paris!™ tours. He was one of many African-American expats in Paris.
Last summer, I was researching an article about African-American gravesites in and around Paris, and learned that Beauford is buried in a cemetery outside of Paris. I know a personal friend of his who sent the gravesite information to me. He said to me, “If he is still there, we need to try to make sure that he stays there.“
Americans are always surprised to learn that French burial customs are quite different than ours. When you are buried in France, you have your grave space for a certain number of years. Your family has to pay to renew it, and the cemetery has the right to exhume your remains and cremate them if the fee is not paid. Your space is vacated so that someone else can be buried in the same spot.
So tell about the gravesite where Delaney is buried
Beauford’s grave is still intact, but I believe it is because people are not interested in burying people in the division where he lies. There are only a few graves in that division that have tombstones, and these are in poor condition. Beauford’s grave has no tombstone. I had great difficulty identifying the correct site.
So how did you come to organize the Friends of Beauford Delaney?
I found out that Beauford’s gravesite had not been paid for since 1981. Yet by some miracle, he was still in the ground in July 2009! The cost to renew the concession (the lease for the gravesite) was less than 300 Euros. His friends (all of whom live outside France) collected the money and sent it to me, and I went to the cemetery and paid the fee. This is literally how I got swept up into this.
So is that when you decided to start the organization?
I decided to start Les Amis de Beauford Delaney soon afterward because Beauford’s friends wanted his grave to have a proper tombstone. The cost for this, plus maintenance of the gravesite and renewal of the concession would be thousands of dollars—much more than the couple of hundred euros that were required to pay the fee to keep the gravesite intact until 2011. I didn’t think people would send thousands of dollars to me as an individual to pursue this goal, nor did I want them to. This mission needed to have an official organization behind it, and that organization is Les Amis de Beauford Delaney. We are a French non-profit association.
Beauford Delaney
What is your ultimate goal with the organization?
Our ultimate goal is to place a tombstone at Beauford’s grave by August 2010. That is a milestone date (the anniversary of Beauford’s departure from the U.S. for Paris) that I would like to honor if possible. The tombstone will require care once it is installed, and we will need to renew the concession for the gravesite so that the grave will remain intact. We also want to raise the public’s consciousness about Beauford Delaney. His art was everything to him. It is a shame that it is taking so long for people to appreciate it. I would like for people to say “I know about Beauford Delaney and I know about his art.”
How can people donate to the organization?
Those wishing to donate by check should contact me by e-mail so that I can provide them with a mailing address. All checks should be made payable to Les Amis de Beauford Delaney.
Those wanting to contribute online should visit the blog at http://lesamisdebeauforddelaney.blogspot.com. There is a donate button in the right margin, just beneath the color photo of Beauford’s final resting place. Click on the button to make a contribution.
There is a list of donors on the blog, located beneath the “Donate” button in the right margin. We are thanking everyone who has said they wanted to be publicly acknowledged by placing their names on this list.
