Skip to main content

Main Building

Portrait of James Baldwin

1945
Beauford Delaney (American (active Paris), 1901–1979)

The famous writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin was twenty-one when Delaney created this iconic portrait. Baldwin often featured queer male characters in his works, but as an out gay man involved in the civil rights movement, he was often excluded from inner circle discussions of Black liberation. Closely cropped and vibrantly painted, his image jumps out from the canvas, presenting an up-close encounter with the sitter. As in Delaney’s self-portraits, the artist painted one eye slightly different from the other, a pictorial device also found often in Pablo Picasso’s paintings. Of the many portraits Delaney made of Baldwin, this one is among his most direct and expressive.


Object Details

We are always open to learning more about our collections and updating the website. Does this record contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Contact us here.

Please note that this particular artwork might not be on view when you visit. Don’t worry—we have plenty of exhibitions for you to explore.


Main Building