CULTURE TYPE
By Victoria L. Valentine
DURING HIS LIFETIME,
James Baldwin (1924-1987) had a lot to say. His insightful observations and thoughtful, sometimes fiery, words about race, civil rights, and the American paradigm resonate 30 years after his death. A treasure trove of published and unpublished manuscripts, novels, essays, telegrams, interviews, correspondence, and handwritten notes, the Baldwin Archive includes about 70 boxes—30 linear feet of personal documents, along with photographs and audio recordings. Offering an in-depth look at Baldwin’s creative process and literary, political, and personal life, the collection spans his entire career, from the 1940s until his 1987 death at age 63. Delaney's paintings are a visual record, providing a sense of how Delaney viewed and observed Baldwin. [
More]
 |
| BEAUFORD DELANEY (1901-1979), “Portrait of James Baldwin,” 1945 (oil on canvas). | Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 125th Anniversary Acquisition. Purchased with funds contributed by The Daniel W. Dietrich Foundation in memory of Joseph C. Bailey and with a grant from The Judith Rothschild Foundation, 1998
|
 |
| At his home in New York, N.Y., James Baldwin stands before a portrait Beauford Delaney painted of him, Jan. 1, 1978. | Photo by Anthony Barboza, Getty Images |
DURING HIS LIFETIME, James Baldwin (1924-1987) had a lot to say. His insightful observations and thoughtful, sometimes fiery, words about race, civil rights, and the American paradigm resonate 30 years after his death. A treasure trove of published and unpublished manuscripts, novels, essays, telegrams, interviews, correspondence, and handwritten notes, the Baldwin Archive includes about 70 boxes—30 linear feet of personal documents, along with photographs and audio recordings. Offering an in-depth look at Baldwin’s creative process and literary, political, and personal life, the collection spans his entire career, from the 1940s until his 1987 death at age 63. Delaney's paintings are a visual record, providing a sense of how Delaney viewed and observed Baldwin. [More]
