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.
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(Biography provided by Helicline Fine Art)
"Untitled (Seated Figure)" Milton Avery, Modernist, Interior Scene, Abstracted
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, NY
Milton Avery Untitled (Seated Figure), circa early 1930s Signed and inscribed on the reverse Oil on homemade canvas board 11 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches Provenance The artist Max Granick, Ne...
Canvas, Oil, Board
"Fish" Milton Avery, Mid-Century, Modernist Fish, Blue, Gray, Maine Artist
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, NY
Milton Avery Fish, 1952 Signed and dated twice lower left Crayon on paper 3 1/2 x 10 inches Milton Clark Avery was born in 1885 in Altmar, New York. Largely self-taught, Avery is t...
Paper, Crayon
'Little Girl' — American Modernist Signed Drypoint, 1936
By Milton Avery
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Milton Avery, 'Little Girl', drypoint, 1936, edition 60, Lunn 11. Signed, dated, and numbered '22/60' in pencil. A superb impression, in warm black ink with delicate overall plate tone, on off-white wove paper, with wide margins (2 5/8 to 4 1/8 inches); hinge stains on the top sheet edge, verso, otherwise in excellent condition. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 8 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches (222 x 121 mm); sheet size 14 7/8 x 13 1/8 inches (378 x 333 mm). Collections: Cantor Arts Center, National Gallery of Art. ABOUT THE ARTIST "I never have any rules to follow; I follow myself." "I paint not by sight but by faith. Faith gives you sight." —Milton Avery 'His is the poetry of sheer loveliness.' —Mark Rothko in his 1965 eulogy to Avery. Milton Avery (1885-1965) is recognized as one of America's foremost modernist artists, renowned for his uniquely expressive style, evocative use of color, and captivating compositions. Growing up in a working-class family in Altmar, New York, Avery's early life was marked by the struggles and realities of rural New York. Despite lacking formal artistic training, he displayed an innate talent for drawing from an early age. In 1905, his family relocated to Hartford, Connecticut, where he worked various odd jobs while developing his artistic skills through self-study and experimentation. In 1915, he enrolled at the Connecticut League of Art Students, where he received formal instruction and began to refine his distinctive style. In 1918, Avery transferred to the School of the Art Society of Hartford and worked in the evenings so that he could paint during the day. He became a member of the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts in 1924. That summer in Gloucester, Massachusetts, he met the artist Sally Michael...
Drypoint
Rare Milton Avery MoMA Exhibition Poster Sea Grasses & Blue Sea 1958
By Milton Avery
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
Extremely rare, 1988 Milton Avery, Museum of Modern Art, New York, exhibition lithograph poster of the artist's 1958 painting, "Sea Grasses and Blue Sea,...
Paper
$16,000
NIGHT NUDE
By Milton Avery
Located in Portland, ME
Avery, Milton. NIGHT NUDE. Woodcut, 1953. Edition of 25 in black and white (there were a further 25 printed in black and blue). Signed, dated and numbered "6/25" in pencil, and also ...
Woodcut
Milton Avery Original Etching Pencil Signed, 1936, Little Girl
By Milton Avery
Located in Phoenix, AZ
Original Etching by Modernist Milton Avery (1885-1965) Image measures: 8 5/8" H x 4 5/8" W. Titled lower left - “Little Girl” Edition size: 6 of 60. Printed in 1936. In excellent co...
Paper, Etching
The Print Dress (Woman with Mandolin) - Oil on Canvas Portrait Painting, c. 1935
By Milton Avery
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Milton Avery's 'The Print Dress (Woman with Mandolin)' (c. 1935) belongs to a pivotal year: in 1935 Avery had his first solo exhibition, at New York's Valentine Gallery, alongside Ma...
Canvas, Oil
Relaxed Conversation
By Milton Avery
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Milton Avery (1885-1965) whose lyrical command of colour and form positioned him as a pivotal figure in 20th-century art. Often described as the “American Fauve,” Avery produced pai...
Ink
original lithograph
By Milton Avery
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. This lithograph was printed in 1952 for the "Improvisations" portfolio, published by the Artists Equity Association of New York on the occasion of the 19...
Lithograph
80s Vintage Original Milton Avery Husband and Wife Exhibition Lithograph Poster
By Milton Avery
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
Rare, Oversized, Original, Out of Print, Milton Avery Exhibition Lithograph Print entitled "Husband and Wife" published in 1984 by the Wadsworth Atheneum Art Museum of Hartford, Conn...
Paper
Sally with Beret Drypoint Print, Signed, 20th Century, Edition 99/100
By Milton Avery
Located in Milwaukee, WI
Signed and dated in pencil LRC "Milton Avery 1939" Numbered in pencil LLC "99/100" The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City each have a print fro...
Drypoint
YOUNG GIRL NUDE
By Milton Avery
Located in Portland, ME
Avery, Milton. YOUNG GIRL NUDE. Lunn 7. Drypoint, 1935. Edition of 100. Signed, dated, and numbered 12/100 in pencil. 10 x 4 1/4 inches (plate), framed to 19 x 14 inches.Provenance H...
Drypoint
$322,000
White Hen
By Milton Avery
Located in London, GB
Milton Avery White Hen, 1957 Mixed Media on Board 28 x 50 cm 11 x 19 ½ inches Born in Altmar, New York, in 1885, Milton Avery moved with his family to Hartford, Connecticut in 1905....
Mixed Media, Board
Fish (Blue) Woodcut Print, Framed, Rare A/P, Circa 1952, 2.38 x 9 in
By Milton Avery
Located in Milwaukee, WI
Milton Avery Fish (blue), 1952, (A/P) Catalogue raisonné : Lunn 41. Woodcut, printed in blue2.38 x 9 in (6.05 x 22.86 cm)Framed 12.50 x 18.75 in From the blue prints, approximately 1...
Woodcut
"Country Haircut"
By Milton Avery
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to offer this piece by Milton Avery (1885 – 1965). Milton Avery was a prominent Modernist painter whose work combined abstraction and...
Watercolor, Gouache, Paper
MARCH WITH BABUSHKA (HEAD OF MARCH).
By Milton Avery
Located in Portland, ME
Avery, Milton. MARCH WITH BABUSHKA (HEAD OF MARCH). Drypoint, 1948. Edition of 100, published by Collectors of American Art. Unsigned, as called for (prints from this edition were not signed). 7 x 6 5/8 inches (plate size, measured along the edges), 9 3/4 x 9 5/8 (image, measured on the diagonal, as oriented), 11 1/4 x 11 inches (sheet). In excellent condition. Three of the four corners of the plate have been trimmed to about one inch from the platemark. A spare and elegant portrait of the artist's daughter, the artist March Avery.
Drypoint
Standing Nude, Hand Signed Drypoint on Paper, 1941, Edition of 60
By Milton Avery
Located in Aventura, FL
Hand signed and numbered by the artist. Sheet size 19.75 x 13 inches. Image size 14 x 7 inches. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of Authenticity included. Edition of 6...
Drypoint, Paper
$39,000
Untitled
By Milton Avery
Located in PARIS, FR
Milton Avery, in full Milton Clark Avery, (born March 7, 1893, Altmar, New York, U.S.—died January 3, 1965, New York City), painter noted in his lat...
Pencil, Paper, Ink
$300
H 13.5 in W 20 in D 0.07 in
Picasso Inspired Original Surrealist Art Exhibition Poster by Antoni Clave
By Antoni Clavé
Located in Miami, FL
Picasso Inspired Original Surrealist Art Exhibition Poster by Antoni Clave Original art exhibition poster by listed Spanish artist Antoni Clave from his Ginza Japan show. This int...
Paper
$24,500
H 15 in W 20.5 in
Theresa Bernstein, American Modernist, "Coney Island", Foster Bros period frame
By Theresa Bernstein
Located in Rockport, MA
Painting size without frame: 15"x20 1/2" Painting size with frame: 21"x26 1/2" Period Foster Brothers Frame Painting is signed lower right. A lively boardwalk scene by Theresa Ber...
Oil, Board
$489
H 16 in W 12 in
America impressionist portrait young boy 1937 Modern Figurative Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
A fantastic modern portrait of a young boy. This work is signed what appears to be Paul Sellers and dated 1937, but we have not found information on the artist. The work dated 1936...
Oil, Board
Signed Rare Milton Glaser Big Nudes Lithograph
By Milton Glaser
Located in New York, NY
Artist: MILTON GLASER (1929-2020) Not numbered. Signature is faded in lower right. Glass frame with metal edge. Framed: 51.5"W x 36"H "Big Nudes" was at the...
Paper
$220Sale Price|25% Off
H 25.5 in W 18 in D 0.07 in
Original Midcentury Abstract Art Exhibition Poster, Signed Rosso Dated 1975
Located in Miami, FL
Original midcentury abstract art exhibition poster with wonderful vivid colors of blue, red, green, beige, etc... Very decorative, signed by t...
Paper
$1,875
H 36 in W 27 in D 1 in
Casanova, Etching on Paper, Art Deco, Signed, 1928, 36x27 in. Framed
By Louis Icart
Located in Aventura, FL
Etching on paper. Hand signed lower right margin. Image size: 20 x 13 inches. Frame size approx 36 x 27 inches. Reference: Figure 331 page 156 in "Louis Icart: The complete etchin...
Paper, Etching
$600
H 6.57 in W 4.75 in
City Scene II — Mid-Century Modernism, Precisionism, Signed Wood Engraving
By Bernard Brussel-Smith
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Bernard Brussel-Smith, 'City Scene II', wood engraving, 1949, artist's proof, edition 100. Signed, titled, and annotated 'A.P.' in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, on whit...
Woodcut
'Loop Alley' — Modernist Chicago Cityscape, WPA
By Charles Turzak
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Charles Turzak, 'Loop Alley (Chicago)', color woodcut, edition c. 25, c. 1935. Signed and titled in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, with fresh colors, on cream wove Japan pa...
Woodcut
$325
H 12.5 in W 14.5 in
A 1928 Modernist Woodcut, Self-Portrait of Notable Chicago Modernist Emil Armin
By Emil Armin
Located in Chicago, IL
A 1928 woodcut on paper of a self-portrait of notable Chicago Modernist artist, Emil Armin. Artwork size: 10 1/2" x 8". Archivally matted to: 12 1/2" x 14 1/2. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil. Edition 7/30. Emil Armin was born in Radautz, Austria in 1883. By the age of 10, Armin was orphaned and was raised by his older siblings. He supported himself by working in restaurants and drew in his spare time. In 1905, at the age of 21, Armin immigrated to Chicago. He began studying at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1907, but financial difficulties forced him to start and stop a number of times, finally graduating in 1920. He studied with George Bellows and Randall Davey. Armin was an integral part of Chicago’s 57th Street Art Colony and exhibited in both the more avant-garde Chicago No-Jury Society Shows, as well as the more formal and conventional Chicago Society of Artists Exhibitions, the Chicago Renaissance Society and Art Institute of Chicago (1922-1949) exhibitions. He taught at Hull House...
Paper, Woodcut
$10,463
H 48 in W 41 in
La Dulce Aqua Vita, Large Signed Carborundum Etching on Handmade Paper, 2002
By Roberto Matta
Located in Aventura, FL
Carborundum etching on hand made paper. Hand signed lower front by Roberto Matta. Edition 111/125. Published by Nordstamp. Artwork is in overall excellent condition. Certificate...
Paper, Etching
$1,200
H 12.5 in W 16.5 in D 1.25 in
A Charming 1950s Painting of Lisbon, Portugal by Famed Artist Francis Chapin
By Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Charming, 1950s Painting of Lisbon, Portugal by Famed Chicago Modern Artist Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Depicting a bustling, colorful view of Lisbon's historic Black Horse Sq...
Oil, Canvas, Board
$2,750Sale Price|21% Off
H 7.13 in W 5.25 in D 0.5 in
The Gargoyle and His Quarry
By John Taylor Arms
Located in Plano, TX
The Gargoyle and His Quarry, Notre Dame. 1920. Etching.Fletcher 90. 7 1/8 x 5 1/4 (sheet 10 1/2 x 9 1/16). Gargoyle series #1. Edition 75. A rich impression printed on 'FJHead&Co' c...
Drypoint, Etching
Milton Avery "Nursing Baby" Drypoint Etching, 1933
By Milton Avery
Located in Astoria, NY
Milton Avery (American, 1885-1965) "Nursing Baby", 1933, drypoint etching on paper, signed in red lower right, numbered 40/100 lower left, housed in a gilt wood frame. Dimensions: I...
Glass, Giltwood, Paper
Milton Avery "Bathers" Drypoint Etching, 1941
By Milton Avery
Located in Astoria, NY
Milton Avery (American, 1885-1965) "Bathers", 1941, drypoint etching on paper, signed and dated lower right, numbered 24/60 lower left, housed in a carved gilt wood frame. Dimension...
Glass, Giltwood, Paper
Milton Avery "Sleeping Baby" Drypoint Etching 1933
By Milton Avery
Located in Astoria, NY
Milton Avery (American, 1885-1965) "Sleeping Baby (Study of March Avery)", 1933, drypoint etching on paper, signed and dated in pencil lower right, numbe...
Glass, Giltwood, Paper
Man with Pipe
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, NY
A very good, richly-inked impression of this scarce drypoint. Signed, dated and numbered 22/60 in pencil by Avery. This is a portrait of the artist Vincent Spagna.
Drypoint
Sold
H 42.92 in W 32.09 in D 0.6 in
VINTAGE MILTON AVERY GREENWICH VILLAGERS 1946 PRINT WiTH ORIGINAL GALLERY STAMP
By Milton Avery
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
Royal House Antiques Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this lovely signed print by Milton Avery titled Greenwich Villagers 1946 Please note the delivery fee listed is just a guide, it covers within the M25 only for the UK and local Europe only for international, if you would like an accurate quote please send me your postcode and I’ll provide you with the exact price A good looking and well made piece, I don't really know much about it other than its very decorative and has the original gallery...
Paper
Standing Nude
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, NY
A superb, richly-inked impression of this drypoint with strong contrasts. Signed, dated and numbered 32/60 in pencil by Avery.
Drypoint
Sold
H 12.25 in W 18.25 in D 0.75 in
Milton Avery Female Odalisque Signed Modern Woodcut Artist's Proof 1953 Framed
By Milton Avery
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
A sentimental black and white woodcut depicting a female nude by Milton Avery. Signed in pencil on the bottom right with a 1956 date and an artist proof annotation. A classic composition of an odalisque. Dimensions: 18.25"W x .75"D x 12.25"H (framed). In very good vintage condition. Milton Clark Avery (1885-1965) was an American modern painter. Born in Altmar, New York, he moved to Connecticut in 1898 and later to New York City. He was the husband of artist Sally Michel Avery and the father of artist March Avery.
Paper
Rooster
By Milton Avery
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
DESCRIPTION Woodcut in colors on Japan paper 9 5/8 x 7 inches (image size) 12 x 9 inches (paper size) Signed and dated lower right Set aside from an edition of 100 Cat. Raisonné – Lu...
Paper, Woodcut
Figure on the Beach (Lone Sunbather)
By Milton Avery
Located in Fairfield, CT
PROVENANCE Makler Gallery, Philadelphia; to Private collection, 1967; [Sale: Sotheby's, New York, December 1, 2004, lot 240]; to Private collection, New York, until 2021
Watercolor, Board, Pencil
Sold
H 17.75 in W 14.75 in
"March Avery in Beret, " Milton Avery, American Modernism, Portrait of Artist
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, NY
Milton Clark Avery (1885 - 1965) March Avery in a Beret, 1951 Black crayon and graphite on cream wove paper 11 x 8 3/8 inches Signed and dated lower left; ...
Paper, Crayon, Pencil, Graphite
Nude Combing Hair
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, NY
A superb, well-inked impression of this scarce drypoint. Signed, dated and numbered 48/90 in pencil, lower margin.
Drypoint
Three Birds
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, NY
A superb, richly-inked impression of this color woodcut printed on Japan paper. Artist's proof, aside from the edition of 15. Signed, dated and inscribed "Artist's proof" in pencil b...
Color, Woodcut