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Milton Avery

"I came to understand that painters' painter were those for whom painting was meant not just to solve problems, but to be offered for delectation ... Milton Avery ... published no manifestos, indulged in no polemics and followed his bent imperturbably while all around him artists were agonizing over crucial choices amongst the many possible twentieth century modes of vanguardism. For that reason, undoubtedly, he was considered by many as something of a primitive, a kind of Rousseauan pure soul who did what he did out of innocence. That, of course, was a mistaken view. Avery as a painter was nothing if not sophisticated."  

- Dore Ashton

Milton Avery - Artists - Yares Art

(c) Arnold Newman/Getty Images

Frequently cited as “America’s Matisse” because of his use of broad swaths of color and spatial elements anticipating Color Field painting, Milton Avery has come to be recognized as a significant contributor to American Modernism. Born in upstate New York in 1885, Avery was obliged by various hardships to support his family from an early age. Unlike many of his artistic contemporaries, he came to study art rather late in life and in roundabout fashion. He enrolled in a lettering course at the Connecticut League of Art Students in hopes of increasing his career prospects, but, when the class was abruptly canceled, he opted for a life-drawing class.

In 1925, Avery moved to New York City, where he married fellow artist Sally Michel the following year. Michel was able to support Avery financially, giving him his first opportunity to pursue art full time. His practice developed quickly, and in 1927 he participated in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 11th Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists. In a 1928 group show at Opportunity Gallery, he met fellow newcomer Marcus Rothkowitz, later known as Mark Rothko. Rothko eventually introduced Avery to Adolph Gottlieb and Barnett Newman, and the three began meeting almost daily for drawing sessions.

 

Milton Avery - Artists - Yares Art

Self-Portrait

1947

Oil on canvas

55 x 36 inches

139.7 x 91.4cm

In 1929, the Phillips Memorial Collection in Washington, DC, became the first museum to acquire one of Avery’s works, and, in 1943, is where his first solo museum show was held. This milestone led to his inclusion in the Whitney’s Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Art the same year.

By the late 1940s Avery was working proficiently in oils, watercolor, and drypoint. The artist’s standing benefited from a seminal editorial that Clement Greenberg wrote for Arts Magazinein 1957, and in turn, the American Federation of Arts (AFA) awarded him a traveling retrospective that opened at the Whitney Museum in 1960. Shortly after the opening of the show, Avery suffered a major heart attack from which he never fully recovered, and he died in New York City in 1965.

Numerous and renowned artists from many generations have cited the invaluable influence of Avery on their own art. As testament to the significance of his oeuvre, his works have been acquired by many major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and the Tate Modern, London.

Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails
Gas Tank in St. Tropez

1956

Oil on canvas

43 x 57 inches

109.2 x 144.8cm

Gas Tank in St. Tropez

1956

Oil on canvas

43 x 57 inches

109.2 x 144.8cm

Inquire
Yellow Sailfish

1960

Oil on canvas

34 1/4 x 54 1/8 inches

87 x 137.5cm

Yellow Sailfish

1960

Oil on canvas

34 1/4 x 54 1/8 inches

87 x 137.5cm

Inquire
Robed Nude

1960

Oil on canvas

68 1/8 x 58 1/8 inches

173 x 147.6cm

Robed Nude

1960

Oil on canvas

68 1/8 x 58 1/8 inches

173 x 147.6cm

Inquire
Forest Goat

1957

Oil on canvas

37 x 50 inches

94 x 127cm

Forest Goat

1957

Oil on canvas

37 x 50 inches

94 x 127cm

Inquire
Florida Swamp

1951

Oil on canvas

40 x 30 inches

101.6 x 76.2 cm

Florida Swamp

1951

Oil on canvas

40 x 30 inches

101.6 x 76.2 cm

Inquire
Brown Sea

1958

Oil on canvas

50 x 72 inches

127 x 182.9 cm

Brown Sea

1958

Oil on canvas

50 x 72 inches

127 x 182.9 cm

Inquire
Crescent Beach

1958

Oil on paper laid down on board

23 x 35 inches

58.4 x 88.9cm

Crescent Beach

1958

Oil on paper laid down on board

23 x 35 inches

58.4 x 88.9cm

Inquire
Untitled (Afternoon Nap)

c. 1930

Watercolor on paper

22 x 15 inches 55.9 x 38.1cm

Untitled (Afternoon Nap)

c. 1930

Watercolor on paper

22 x 15 inches 55.9 x 38.1cm

Inquire
Untitled (Shore Baby)

c. 1930

Watercolor on paper

15 x 22 inches

38.1 x 55.9cm

Untitled (Shore Baby)

c. 1930

Watercolor on paper

15 x 22 inches

38.1 x 55.9cm

Inquire
Untitled (Souris Under Sail)

c. 1930

Gouache on grayish brown paper

18 x 24 inches

45.7 x 61cm

Untitled (Souris Under Sail)

c. 1930

Gouache on grayish brown paper

18 x 24 inches

45.7 x 61cm

Inquire
Stairs to the Beach

c. 1930

Watercolor on paper

15 x 22 inches

38.1 x 55.9cm

Stairs to the Beach

c. 1930

Watercolor on paper

15 x 22 inches

38.1 x 55.9cm

Inquire
Autumn in Hampshire

1956

Watercolor on paper

22 x 30 inches

55.9 x 76.2cm

Autumn in Hampshire

1956

Watercolor on paper

22 x 30 inches

55.9 x 76.2cm

Inquire
Gas Tank in St. Tropez

1956

Oil on canvas

43 x 57 inches

109.2 x 144.8cm

Gas Tank in St. Tropez

1956

Oil on canvas

43 x 57 inches

109.2 x 144.8cm

Yellow Sailfish

1960

Oil on canvas

34 1/4 x 54 1/8 inches

87 x 137.5cm

Yellow Sailfish

1960

Oil on canvas

34 1/4 x 54 1/8 inches

87 x 137.5cm

Robed Nude

1960

Oil on canvas

68 1/8 x 58 1/8 inches

173 x 147.6cm

Robed Nude

1960

Oil on canvas

68 1/8 x 58 1/8 inches

173 x 147.6cm

Forest Goat

1957

Oil on canvas

37 x 50 inches

94 x 127cm

Forest Goat

1957

Oil on canvas

37 x 50 inches

94 x 127cm

Florida Swamp

1951

Oil on canvas

40 x 30 inches

101.6 x 76.2 cm

Florida Swamp

1951

Oil on canvas

40 x 30 inches

101.6 x 76.2 cm

Brown Sea

1958

Oil on canvas

50 x 72 inches

127 x 182.9 cm

Brown Sea

1958

Oil on canvas

50 x 72 inches

127 x 182.9 cm

Crescent Beach

1958

Oil on paper laid down on board

23 x 35 inches

58.4 x 88.9cm

Crescent Beach

1958

Oil on paper laid down on board

23 x 35 inches

58.4 x 88.9cm

Untitled (Afternoon Nap)

c. 1930

Watercolor on paper

22 x 15 inches 55.9 x 38.1cm

Untitled (Afternoon Nap)

c. 1930

Watercolor on paper

22 x 15 inches 55.9 x 38.1cm

Untitled (Shore Baby)

c. 1930

Watercolor on paper

15 x 22 inches

38.1 x 55.9cm

Untitled (Shore Baby)

c. 1930

Watercolor on paper

15 x 22 inches

38.1 x 55.9cm

Untitled (Souris Under Sail)

c. 1930

Gouache on grayish brown paper

18 x 24 inches

45.7 x 61cm

Untitled (Souris Under Sail)

c. 1930

Gouache on grayish brown paper

18 x 24 inches

45.7 x 61cm

Stairs to the Beach

c. 1930

Watercolor on paper

15 x 22 inches

38.1 x 55.9cm

Stairs to the Beach

c. 1930

Watercolor on paper

15 x 22 inches

38.1 x 55.9cm

Autumn in Hampshire

1956

Watercolor on paper

22 x 30 inches

55.9 x 76.2cm

Autumn in Hampshire

1956

Watercolor on paper

22 x 30 inches

55.9 x 76.2cm

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