Discouraged by the racism and prejudice against homosexuality he had experienced in the United States, Beauford Delaney settled in Paris, where his career flourished. While there, he produced this portrait of prominent Atlanta-based cultural historian Dr. Richard A. Long. As a young scholar, Long was among a circle of American expatriates that included Delaney. Delaney painted this quarter-length portrait with intense shades of yellow against a soft blue background. It is a tender portrayal of a friend that illustrates both the promise of a future unfettered by racial strife and the burgeoning talent of its young subject.