Untitled (New York City) 1945

Beauford Delaney made this watercolor, Untitled (New York City), with a real loosey-goosey approach that lets the colors mix and mingle on the page. He's not precious about it; he's letting the medium do its thing. The way the colors bleed together, the watery washes, it’s all very dreamy. It's like he's capturing the feeling of a place rather than the literal details. Look at how the streetlights are these swirly halos of yellow and white, and the buildings are just suggested with these blocks of color, pinks and blues and greens. There's a real sense of movement and light in this piece. Notice how the street or road is comprised of a number of coloured concentric circles. Delaney was always chasing the light in his work, and you can see it here in this watercolor. It reminds me of some of Marsden Hartley's paintings. Both artists were interested in using color to evoke emotion and to capture the energy of a place. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that art is always a conversation, an exchange of ideas across time and between artists.