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Washington Square
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In early September of 1950, Delaney began a two-month fellowship at the
Yaddo Art Colony in Saratoga Springs, New York. Founded in 1900 by Spencer and Katrina Trask,
Yaddo was intended to support and nurture the talents of writers, painters, composers, and
other creative artists. Guests were provided with living quarters and daily meals. A
particularly wonderful benefit was the camaraderie that developed among the various
guests. Delaney formed long-term friendships with the writers Elizabeth Bishop, May
Swenson, and Jane Mayhall on this, his first of two visits to Yaddo.
Delaney painted many compositions based on everyday life in Washington Square. This painting is the most
complex in terms of its construction. Prismatic shards of primary colors and occasional pastels are joined
together by lines and surface texture into a riotous crazy-quilt.
Washington Square is also a visual manifesto of Delaney's desire for peace and unity
among all people, regardless of race. Thus, the scene is populated with humans of color-yellow,
white, red, and brown-who interact in harmony. Such accord was an idyll that clashed with reality
at that time in New York, yet Delaney persisted in envisioning an alternative way of living.
It is believed that the artist included himself in this scene at lower right, sitting in a chair
and drawing a portrait of the white figure next to him.
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