Skip to main content

Milton Avery Art

American, 1885-1965

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)

to
2
12
13
12
4
4
2
1
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...
Category

Mid-20th Century Milton Avery Art

Materials

Paper

STANDING NUDE
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...
Category

1940s Modern Milton Avery Art

Materials

Drypoint, Paper

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...
Category

1930s Milton Avery Art

Materials

Drypoint

original lithograph
By Milton Avery
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. This lithograph was printed in 1953 for the "Improvisations" portfolio, published by the Artists Equity Association of New York on the occasion of the 19...
Category

1950s Milton Avery Art

Materials

Lithograph

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...
Category

1950s Milton Avery Art

Materials

Lithograph

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...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Milton Avery Art

Materials

Ink, Paper, Pencil

Milton Avery "Sleeping Baby" Drypoint Etching 1933
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, 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...
Category

Early 20th Century American Classical Milton Avery Art

Materials

Glass, Giltwood, Paper

Head of a Man
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, NY
A superb impression of this very scarce drypoint. Edition of 100. Signed in pencil by Avery. Printed by Atelier 17, New York. Published by Laurel Gallery, New York. From "Laurels Por...
Category

1930s Modern Milton Avery Art

Materials

Drypoint

Milton Avery wood block black and white rare dancer COA appraisal framed period
By Milton Avery
Located in Buffalo, NY
Milton Avery. Dancer, 1954. Woodcut. Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil. A fine impression, on cream wove Japan paper, with full margins (7/8 to 3 1/8 inches); in good conditio...
Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Milton Avery Art

Materials

Woodcut

"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; ...
Category

1950s American Modern Milton Avery Art

Materials

Graphite, Crayon, Paper, Pencil

"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...
Category

1940s American Modern Milton Avery Art

Materials

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.
Category

1940s American Modern Milton Avery Art

Materials

Drypoint

Untitled (Cows in Autumn)
By Milton Avery
Located in Greenwich, CT
This work is accompanied by a letter of opinion from the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, New York. signed Milton Avery (lower right) Born in Sand...
Category

1940s Modern Milton Avery Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Related Items
The City at Twilight: Twin Towers II, signed painting, Gruenebaum Gallery label
By Sonia Gechtoff
Located in New York, NY
Sonia Gechtoff The City at Twilight: Twin Towers II, 1985 Acrylic and pencil on paper (held in original frame with Gruenebaum Gallery, NY label) Signed and dated on the front; also b...
Category

1980s Abstract Expressionist Milton Avery Art

Materials

Acrylic, Pencil, Graphite

Bela Kadar Ink Drawing – Townscape with Figures, Horse, Chickens, Trees
By Bela Kadar
Located in Berlin, MD
Béla Kádár (Hungarian, 1877-1956) Townscape with horse and chickens signed 'KÁDÁR BÉLA' (lower right) ink and wash on paper 12 x 18 1⁄2 in. (30.5 x 47 cm....
Category

Early 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Milton Avery Art

Materials

Ink, Carbon Pencil

"Relaxing at Camarillo" - Abstract Expressionism
Located in Soquel, CA
"Relaxing at Camarillo" - Abstract Expressionism A man relines in a black hat and a green shape emulating the symbol of infinity, accented in bright canary yellow and gray, by Calif...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Milton Avery Art

Materials

Pencil, Paper, Acrylic, Gouache

Abstract Expressionist Figure
By Michael William Eggleston
Located in Soquel, CA
Abstract expressionist figure, a seated blonde female nude with dynamic expressive lines by San Francisco artist Michael William Egglest...
Category

1990s Abstract Expressionist Milton Avery Art

Materials

Acrylic, Charcoal, Paper, Pencil

Nude Figure Posterior View, Figurative Drypoint Etching
By Jim Smyth
Located in Soquel, CA
Limited edition drypoint etching of a nude figure from a posterior view by Jim Smyth (American, b. 1938). Numbered and signed by hand "7/15 Jim Smyth" along the bottom edge. Presented in a new cream and off-white double mat. No frame. Image size: 14.75"H x 10.75"W Jim Smyth (American, b. 1938) has studied at the Academia de Belle Arti in Fiorenza, Italy, Ecole des BeauxArts in Geneva, New York Academy and the Art Students league. He is also a graduate from UC Berkeley with a degree in Fine Art. Although academically trained, Smyth practices and teaches a more impressionistic style of painting, focusing on Alla Prima technique. He is particularly knowledgeable about drawing, perspective, color theory and the human figure, his passion. Smyth, with an extensive academic knowledge, has a profound love of all human representations as illustrated by his humorous quick sketches from life. He also practices and teaches oil painting and pastels. When not in Provence, or Southeastern France, Smyth teaches intensely in art schools, art centers and several colleges in the Bay Area. He is a beloved instructor and his classes fill in quickly as he is very knowledgeable. On his return to the United States, he began studying with Mr. Alanson Appleton at the College of San Mateo, San Mateo, California. Smyth was a founding member of the Appletree Etchers, Inc., an etching print shop organized by Mr. Appleton and his students to develop and promote color intaglio. Smyth served as Master Printer at the studio for many years perfecting the techniques of intaglio and developing the color theories of Mr. Appleton as applied to the deep etched plate. Smyth received his degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1972 and holds the California Community College Certificate and an Adult Education Certificate. Smyth was invited to teach "Anatomy for Artists" at Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, California, as a result of his many years of dissection of the cadaver and developed the course of study of Perspective for the college. During this period, he began teaching Life Drawing at the Pacific Art League of Palo Alto, Palo Alto, California. During the following thirty years Smyth has taught an average of twelve classes per week at the Pacific Art League of Palo Alto, the Palo Alto Art Center and the Burlingame Recreation Department among others in all phases of drawing and painting. He has conducted many workshops for the California Academy of Painters in many aspects of drawing and painting. Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor of Drawing at the College of San Mateo, San Mateo, California. He is an authority on the materials of painting and drawing, techniques of traditional drawing and painting, color theory, perspective and anatomy for artists. In his career in Life Drawing, Smyth has made over two hundred thousand drawings from the model. In addition to studies at Berkeley, Smyth has studied at the College of San Mateo, Foothill College, De Anza College, Mission College and West Valley College, all in California. One of the pivotal points in his career was studying with Mr. Maynard Dixon Stewart at the University of San Jose, California. He spent a year at the New York Academy of Art where he was offered a full scholarship and at the Art Students League of New York. He concurrently attended classes at the National Academy of Design in New York. Among others, Smyth studied with M. Andrejivec, Ted Schmidt, Elliot Goldfinger, Gary Fagin, Ted Jacobs, Leo Neufeld, David Leffel, Jack Ferragasso, Jim Childs and Everett Raymond Kinstler and Kim English. Smyth has also studied with the noted painter and colorist, Ovanes Berberian. In 2002 Jim was invited to study at the Academy of Art in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he worked in Life Drawing and Life Painting. Smyth is a popular lecturer, a sought after demonstrator and juror. He is the recipient of many awards for both his painting and his teaching. In 1988 and again in 2003, he received the Kenneth Washburn...
Category

Late 20th Century American Impressionist Milton Avery Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Drypoint

"Untitled", Inked Profile, Museum Glass, Custom Frame, Mixed Media, India Ink
By Lester Johnson
Located in Detroit, MI
SALE ONE WEEK ONLY “Untitled” painted in India Ink of two heads was done during what has been call Lester Johnson’s Dark Paintings of the 1960s. In 2013 John Yau wrote with much insight about that period of Johnson’s work - “Lester Johnson (1919-2010) was an innovative figurative painter who has never quite fit into any of the accepted narratives of postwar American art, and that alone makes his work worthy of a longer look. The 1960s was an explosively turbulent era marked by assassinations, race riots, space flights, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Beatles’ and Rolling Stones’ first American tours, and the rapidly escalating Vietnam War. Everyone was wary and on edge. Meanwhile, in the New York art world, all eyes were fixated on the rise and triumph of Pop Art, Minimalism and Color Field painting. Johnson was one of the few artists that attuned to the dismay that everyone was feeling during the violent and schizophrenic time, the sense that it could all come crashing down. However, his work was never overtly political or didactic. While his dark, brooding, monochromatic paintings of anonymous men gained a small and loyal following, they also became part of that largely invisible history of a time when New York was a tough scary and exciting place to be. More than fifty years after they were made, Johnson’s Dark Paintings continue to retain a coarseness that we associate with gestural Abstract Expressionism and Jean Dubuffet’s anti-psychological, anti-personal portraits incorporating sand and gravel. One sees in them the antecedents of Joyce Pensato’s gestural exaggerations of Groucho Marx, Homer Simpson and Minnie Mouse. While Pensato brings an infectious humor to her work, Johnson was more somber. I cannot help but think that both these artists chose their bedraggled subjects out of empathy and a trace of identification.” Lester Johnson, was born in 1919 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He attended Minneapolis School of Art, where he studied under Alexander Masley who was a former student of Hans Hofmann. Johnson continued his artistic career in New York City where he opened his first studio on 6th and Avenue A. His neighbor there was fellow painter Wolf Kahn. During his time there he would share a loft with Larry Rivers and married the art historian Josephine Valenti. In 1961 he briefly taught at Ohio State University before returning to New York City to share a studio with Philip Pearlstein. Jack Tworkov would invite Johnson to teach at Yale, an offer that Lester Johnson would accept and spend the rest of his life in Connecticut. Johnson passed away in 2010. Johnson's work has been exhibited in the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Walker Art Center, the Yale University Art Gallery, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Museum of Art, the Rhode Island School of Design, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This work has been framed inside of a custom frame with museum glass...
Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Milton Avery Art

Materials

India Ink, Mixed Media

Nu Accroupi - Original Etching by Dunoyer de Segonzac - 1930
By André Dunoyer de Segonzac
Located in Roma, IT
Image dimensions: 8 x 17 cm. Etching on ivory colored paper, with en embossing stamp "Libreria Prandi Reggio E." in lower-right corner. Edition of 50 prints. Beautiful etching rep...
Category

1930s Modern Milton Avery Art

Materials

Etching, Drypoint

RECEIVING HAND Signed Lithograph, Fantastic Realism, Stone, Healing Art
By De Es Schwertberger
Located in Union City, NJ
RECEIVING HAND is a hand drawn original lithograph printed using hand lithography techniques on archival Arches printmaking paper 100% acid free. RECEIVING HAND a finely detailed han...
Category

1970s Surrealist Milton Avery Art

Materials

Lithograph

LOVE STAR OF DAVID
By Yaacov Agam
Located in Aventura, FL
Original gouache painting on paper. Hand signed lower front by Yaacov Agam. Image size 20.25 x 18.5 inches. Sheet size 29 x 22.2 inches. Frame size approx 33 x 31 inches. Cert...
Category

1970s Abstract Milton Avery Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Dalínean Prophecy
By Salvador Dalí­
Located in Greenwich, CT
Dalínean Prophecy is a drypoint etching with lithographic color on japon paper, image size 16 x 23.5 inches, signed Dalí lower right and numbered XVIII/LXXV lower left. From the edit...
Category

20th Century Surrealist Milton Avery Art

Materials

Drypoint, Lithograph

Dancers 7 - Red and Black Figures Embracing the Love of Movement and Life
By Bettina Mauel
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Bettina Mauel, an internationally collected artist, effortlessly channels vitality and sensuality through her awe-inspiring collection of abstract and figurative paintings. With an u...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Milton Avery Art

Materials

Ink, Paper

347 Series (B. 1511; Ba. 1527), Pablo Picasso
By Pablo Picasso
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Title: Jeune fille regardée par une vielle femme et deux hommes dont un gitan Year: 1968 Medium: Etching, aquatint and drypoint on Rives BFK paper Size: 12.5 x 18.5 (plate); 17.75 x 24.25 inches (paper); 20.25 x 30.25 inches (frame) Condition: Excellent Catalogue: B. 1511; Ba. 1527 Inscription: Signed and numbered in pencil Notes: Published by Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris, from the 347 Series. PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973) Spanish painter and sculptor is one of the most recognized figures of twentieth century art. During his artistic career, which lasted more than 75 years, he created thousands of works using all kinds of mediums. He changed art more profoundly than any other artist of his time. First famous for pioneering cubism, Picasso continued to develop his art with a pace and vitality comparable to the accelerated technological and cultural changes of the twentieth century. Each change embodied a radical idea, and might be said that Picasso lived several artistic lifetimes. ABOUT SELLER DO YOU HAVE ARTWORK TO SELL? WE ARE ACTIVELY SEEKING CONSIGNMENTS AND EXCEPTIONAL OBJECTS TO PURCHASE OUTRIGHT! Art Commerce...
Category

1960s Cubist Milton Avery Art

Materials

Drypoint, Etching, Aquatint

Previously Available Items
Milton Avery "Nursing Baby" Drypoint Etching, 1933
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, 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...
Category

Early 20th Century American Classical Milton Avery Art

Materials

Glass, Giltwood, Paper

Milton Avery "Bathers" Drypoint Etching, 1941
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, 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...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Classical Milton Avery Art

Materials

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.
Category

1930s Modern Milton Avery Art

Materials

Drypoint

VINTAGE MILTON AVERY GREENWICH VILLAGERS 1946 PRINT WiTH ORIGINAL GALLERY STAMP
By Milton Avery
Located in GB
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...
Category

20th Century European Other Milton Avery Art

Materials

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.
Category

1940s Modern Milton Avery Art

Materials

Drypoint

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.
Category

1950s Vintage Milton Avery Art

Materials

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...
Category

1950s Modern Milton Avery Art

Materials

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
Category

1950s Milton Avery Art

Materials

Watercolor, Board, Pencil

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.
Category

1950s American Modern Milton Avery Art

Materials

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...
Category

1950s Modern Milton Avery Art

Materials

Color, Woodcut

Trees by the Sea
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, NY
This bold color woodcut print is printed on Japan paper and is an artist proof, aside from the edition of 20. Signed, dated and inscribed "artist proof" in pencil by Avery. Dimension...
Category

1950s Abstract Milton Avery Art

Materials

Lithograph, Woodcut

Sleeping Sally
By Milton Avery
Located in New Orleans, LA
This intimate portrait by American expressionist Milton Avery is a shining example of the artist's ability to convey personal emotion through impassioned use of color. Avery was an i...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Milton Avery Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Milton Avery art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Milton Avery art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Milton Avery in paper, drypoint, engraving and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Milton Avery art, so small editions measuring 5 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Harry Sternberg, Lawrence Wilbur, and Walt Kuhn. Milton Avery art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $400 and tops out at $243,750, while the average work can sell for $5,500.

Artists Similar to Milton Avery

Recently Viewed

View All