Joseph Delaney (Tennessee/New York, 1904-1991) watercolor on cream paper depicting a nude female figure, reclining with arms crossed behind her head and right knee slightly bent, rendered in colors of blue, brown, black and cream. Signed and dated with inscription lower left corner "In Solemn Friendship to Marie Woods From Joe Delaney, 1941". Float mounted onto cream cardstock and housed in a simple painted wood frame. Paper: 19 3/4" H x 29 7/8" W. Sight: 22 7/8" H x 32 3/4" W. Framed: 24 3/8" H x 34 3/8" W. Note: In the book THE LIFE, ART, AND TIMES OF JOSEPH DELANEY 1904-1991, author Frederick C. Moffatt, notes that Marie Woods was a lifelong companion who assisted Delaney in editing and typing his hand written notes and texts (page 44). A watercolor portrait of Marie Woods by Delaney was featured in the 2016 exhibit "Life in the City: The Art of Joseph Delaney" at the Ewing Gallery of Art & Architecture at the University of TN Knoxville. Artist's Biography: Biography (By Frederick C. Moffatt) Joseph Delaney was born in Knoxville in 1904, the ninth of ten children born to a Methodist Minister. He and his older brother, Beauford, discovered their interest in art by drawing on Sunday School cards. In 1930, Joseph left Tennessee for New York where Beauford was also working as an artist, and enrolled in the Art Students League under the tutelage of Thomas Hart Benton and Alexander Brooke. The subject matter he found there, including the city's landmarks and its people, are the images for which he is best known. In 1986, Delaney returned to Knoxville to live and was artist-in-residence for the University of Tennessee Art Department until his death in 1991. Delaney's works are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Chicago Art Institute, The Knoxville Museum of Art, and The Smithsonian American Art Museum. Provenance: Estate of Russell McAdoo, Murfreesboro, TN.

Watercolor is float mounted onto cream cardstock. Some waviness noted to paper along the top margin. Old creasing to paper noted to lower right corner and the vertical length of left margin.