Milton Avery
Milton Clark Avery was born in 1885 in Altmar, New York. Largely self-taught, Avery is today regarded as one of the great early modern American artists; his inspired palette, simplified forms and unwavering commitment to a figurative tradition have secured him a place not only in the canon but also in the hearts of the American public.
Always at odds with the dominant style of the time, be it the American Scene Painting and Social Realism of the 1930s and '40s or the Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s, Avery's oeuvre is a labor of singular dedication. As a boy, Avery worked factory jobs to help support his large family following their move to Connecticut in 1898. He did not seriously begin to pursue art until sometime following his father's death in 1905, when he intermittently attended classes at the Connecticut League of Art Students. He made his artistic debut in 1915 at the Wadsworth Atheneum's Fifth Annual Exhibition of Oil Painting and Sculpture.
In 1925 Avery relocated to New York to be closer to his future bride. Following his marriage in 1926 he was able to quit working and paint full time. At this time Avery replaced the light-drenched palette of his Hartford days with more muted tones. He also exchanged his heavy impasto for thin washes of pigment, which he used to create veiled fields of color.
In 1927 Avery exhibited with the Society of Independent Artists. Success quickly followed. Two of his paintings were selected for inclusion in a 1928 group show at the Opportunity Gallery in New York. Also in 1928, renowned collector Louis Kaufman became the first person to purchase a painting by the artist; and in 1929 Duncan Phillips purchased Winter Riders (1929) for the Phillips Memorial Gallery, making it Avery's first painting to enter a museum collection.
Avery's signature figurative style characterized by simple forms and flattened shapes filled with arbitrary color "in the manner of Matisse" was fully developed by the 1940s. His work as a colorist greatly influenced succeeding generations of artists, specifically Color Field painters Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, and Adolph Gottlieb. In 1944 he was given his first solo museum exhibition at the Phillips Memorial Gallery. That same year, he entered into a contract with famed dealer Paul Rosenberg, in which Rosenberg agreed to purchase 25 of Avery's paintings twice a year.
In 1952 the Baltimore Museum of Art hosted Avery's first museum retrospective, and Avery was the subject of a major article in Arts magazine by eminent art critic Clement Greenberg. In 1960 the Whitney Museum of American Art hosted his second museum retrospective.
Find authentic Milton Avery prints and paintings on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by Helicline Fine Art)
Early 20th Century American Classical Milton Avery
Glass, Giltwood, Paper
Mid-20th Century Milton Avery
Paper
Late 19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Milton Avery
Wood, Paper
1880s English Romantic Antique Milton Avery
Paper
1880s English Romantic Antique Milton Avery
Paper
Late 20th Century French Modern Milton Avery
Paper
Early 19th Century English Antique Milton Avery
Paper
1880s English Romantic Antique Milton Avery
Paper
1970s Italian Modern Vintage Milton Avery
Wood, Paper
1950s English Mid-Century Modern Vintage Milton Avery
Paper
1970s Spanish Modern Vintage Milton Avery
Paper
1880s German Post-Modern Antique Milton Avery
Glass, Wood, Paper
Late 20th Century French Post-Modern Milton Avery
Paper
1890s French Antique Milton Avery
Paper
Early 20th Century American Classical Milton Avery
Glass, Giltwood, Paper
Mid-20th Century American Classical Milton Avery
Glass, Giltwood, Paper
20th Century European Other Milton Avery
Paper
1950s Vintage Milton Avery
Paper
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Milton Avery
Paper, Crayon, Glass, Wood