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BEAUFORD DELANEY: SO SPLENDID A JOURNEY,

the first full-length documentary about Beauford.


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Saturday, October 10, 2015

Beauford Delaney Plaque Installed at Hôtel Odessa

The first Beauford Delaney plaque to be approved for installation in Montparnasse is now in place at the Hôtel Odessa on rue d'Odessa in Paris' 14th arrondissement.

Hôtel Odessa entrance
© Discover Paris!

The Odessa was one of the first places that Beauford stayed when he came to Paris in 1953. It was recommended to him during an evening of merriment after a serendipitous encounter with Earl Kirkham, a painter friend from New York, and several other Americans at the Dôme Café. He moved into the Odessa on his second day in town.

The installation of the plaque on the hotel’s freshly painted façade went smoothly. Patrick Fillere of J. Poulain et Fils*, the company that created the plaque, was on hand to supervise.

Patrick Fillere looks on as placement of the plaque is verified
© Discover Paris!

During the installation, two passersby spotted Beauford's name on the plaque. They stopped and begin to discuss between themselves why his name seemed familiar. After asking me a few questions, they came to realize that they had interviewed Beauford for a documentary that they made about Henry Miller in 1971!

Claude Gallot directed the documentary and released it as edition No. 15 of his video magazine Variances. Florence Gruère, award-winning photographer, conducted the interview.

They graciously consented to pose for this photo in front of the plaque.

Florence Gruère and Claude Gallot
at Beauford Delaney plaque installation
© Discover Paris!

Finally, the installation was complete.

Plaque installation complete!
© Discover Paris!

The inscription on the plaque reads:

BEAUFORD DELANEY,

portraitiste et peintre expressioniste abstrait,

né à Knoxville, Tennessee, USA,

a vécu à cette adresse en 1953.

Translation:

BEAUFORD DELANEY, portraitist and abstract expressionist painter, born in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, lived at this address in 1953.

A second plaque, which commemorates the Mille Colonnes restaurant where Beauford frequently took meals, was installed at Hôtel le M in June 2015. Hôtel Odessa and Hôtel Le M are stops on the Beauford Delaney memorial walk created by Discover Paris! entitled "Beauford Delaney's Montparnasse."


*J. Poulain et Fils
19-21 boulevard de Ménilmontant
75011 Paris
Tel: 01 43 79 04 32

************

Les Amis de Beauford Delaney and Reid Hall are partnering to bring an exhibition of original Beauford Delaney works to Reid Hall in Paris in February 2016! To sign-up to receive information about this show, click HERE.

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