Portrait of Howard Swanson 1967

Beauford Delaney painted this portrait of Howard Swanson with oil on canvas in 1967, capturing Swanson bathed in a yellow light. This yellow light is more than mere illumination. It echoes the golden backgrounds of Byzantine icons, radiating divinity. Consider how halos, those aureoles of light around the heads of saints, evolved from pagan sun symbols into emblems of spiritual enlightenment. Here, Delaney uses the color yellow to evoke a similar sense of transcendence, enveloping Swanson in an almost spiritual glow. Delaney’s choice of yellow can be linked to collective memory and subconscious processes: the sun, a life-giver, is universal, and its psychological effect on us makes the color yellow imbued with optimism. Here, it transmutes a portrait into an emotionally charged icon, a powerful force engaging viewers on a deep, subconscious level. The cyclical progression of such symbols is non-linear and ever-evolving, transcending into new meanings throughout history.