The date of this portrait is unknown, but Swann Auction Galleries speculated that it was created for inclusion in Beauford’s one-man show at the 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Library. The luminous quality of this young man’s face, with the yellows and greens that shine, demonstrate Beauford’s mastery of realistic rendering and creating relationships between light and his subjects. By the end of the 1930s, Beauford was experimenting almost full-time with light, painting portraits and abstractions where the presence of light was the main focus.