Portrait of Gaylord (oil on canvas)

When Delaney moved to New York City at the outset of the Great Depression in 1929, he quickly fell in with the writers, artists, and musicians of Harlem and Greenwich Village. Throughout his life he painted portraits of these friends, though the identities of some, including “Gaylord” in this painting, remain a mystery. Gaylord is thought to have been a musician, a pianist with two fingers missing on one hand, who played at a club frequented by Delaney. To the right of Gaylord’s face is an image of a piano player, perhaps Gaylord himself, while on the left is a figure, possibly Delaney, standing in front of an easel. This work, with its bright colors and swirled brushstrokes, is reminiscent of one of Delaney’s main influences: Vincent van Gogh.