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Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

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)

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Artist: Milton Avery
Fish (blue)
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...
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1950s Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

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...
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1950s Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Gray Sea
By Milton Avery
Located in New York, NY
Color lithograph, 1963. Signed by the artist and dated in pencil, lower right. Numbered 17/118 in pencil, lower left Catalogue raisonne reference: Lunn 38.
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph, Color

'Little Girl' — American Modernism
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...
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1930s American Modern Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

Materials

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...
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1930s Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

Materials

Drypoint

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.
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1940s American Modern Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

Materials

Drypoint

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...
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1940s Modern Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

Materials

Drypoint, Paper

STANDING NUDE
STANDING NUDE
$5,400 Sale Price
25% Off
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Rooster
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Three Birds
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Trees by the Sea
By Milton Avery
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1950s Abstract Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

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'Flight' offset lithograph poster with birds after painting by Milton Avery
By Milton Avery
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The present work is a poster from the 1985 Milton Avery exhibition at the David Barnett Gallery, Milwaukee. The poster (as did the catalogue of the exhibition) features the work "Flight," an oil from 1950 that was a centerpiece of the exhibition. In the image, a teal sea is seen in the background, in the foreground is a grey and blue ground. Two birds sit on this ground, a bird with a pink wing sits looking towards the left. A yellow bird is further to the right, but also looks towards the left. The most eye catching bird has begun to fly towards the scene, placed immediately in the center of the composition. Birds such as these were a common motif in Avery's painting and printmaking and he often featured them in his abstracting images of the sea. This poster has been cut down to the image. Unframed and uncut posters are available. Contact us for more information. 28 x 36 inches, image 30.5 x 40.5 inches, frame Framed to conservation standards using archival materials including 100 percent rag matting and UV Clear glass to inhibit UV damage. Housed in a modern-profile red/cabernet-stain finish wood moulding. Overall good condition; some minor wear to frame; poster cut to image Milton Avery (March 7, 1885 – January 3, 1965) was an American modern painter. Born in Altmar, New York, he moved to Connecticut in 1898 and later to New York City. Avery was a man of few words. "Why talk when you can paint?" he often quipped to his wife. Their daughter, March Avery...
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1980s Expressionist Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

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...
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1950s Abstract Expressionist Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

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"Flight, " Expressionist Landscape with Birds Poster by Milton Avery
By Milton Avery
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Flight" is a poster from the David Barnett Gallery's show on Milton Avery. A teal sea is seen in the background, in the foreground is a grey and blue ground. Two birds sit on this ground, a bird with a pink wing sits looking towards the left. A yellow bird is further to the right, but also looks towards the left. The most eye catching bird has begun to fly towards the scene, he is in the middle of the piece. Image: 23.75 x 34.5 in Framed: 31.375 x 42 in An American Modern Painter The son of a tanner, Avery began working at a local factory at the age of 16, and supported himself for decades with a succession of blue-collar jobs. The death of his brother-in-law in 1915 left Avery, as the sole remaining adult male in his household, responsible for the support of nine female relatives. His interest in art led him to attend classes at the Connecticut League of Art Students in Hartford, and over a period of years he painted in obscurity while receiving a conservative art education. In 1917 he began working night jobs in order to paint in the daytime. In 1924 he met Sally Michel, a young art student, and in 1926 they married; her income as an illustrator enabled him to devote himself more fully to painting. For several years in the late 1920s through the late 1930s Avery practiced painting and drawing at the Art Students League of New York. Roy Neuberger saw his work and thought he deserved recognition. Determined to get the world to know and respect Avery's work, Neuberger bought over 100 of his paintings, starting with Gaspé Landscape, and lent or donated them to museums all over the world. With the work of Milton Avery rotating through high-profile museums, he came to be a highly respected and successful painter. Avery's work is seminal to American abstract painting while his work is clearly representational, it focuses on color relations and is not concerned with creating the illusion of depth as most conventional Western painting since the Renaissance has. Avery was often thought of as an American Matisse, especially because of his colorful and innovative landscape paintings. His poetic, bold and creative use of drawing and color set him apart from more conventional painting of his era. Early in his career his work was considered too radical for being too abstract; when Abstract Expressionism became dominant his work was overlooked, as being too representational. In the 1930s he was befriended by Adolph Gottlieb and Mark Rothko among many other artists living in New York City in the 1930s-40s. The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. was the first museum to purchase one of Avery's paintings in 1929; that museum also gave him his first solo museum exhibition in 1944. Avery was a man of few words. "Why talk when you can paint?" he often quipped to his wife. Their daughter, March Avery...
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1980s Expressionist Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

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Other Medium

Dancer
By Milton Avery
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Milton Avery, 'Dancer', woodcut, 1954, edition 25, Lunn 56. Signed, dated, and numbered '10/25' in pencil. A fine impression, on cream wove Japan paper, with full margins (7/8 to 3 1...
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1950s American Modern Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

Dancer
Dancer
H 11.94 in W 9.88 in
ROOSTER
By Milton Avery
Located in Portland, ME
Avery, Milton. ROOSTER. Woodcut, 1953. Printed in Blue and Black. Edition of 100 published by Collectors of American Art. Signed and dated in pencil. 9 5/8 x 7 1/4 inches, 245 x 184...
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1950s Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

NUDE
By Milton Avery
Located in Portland, ME
Avery, Milton. NUDE. Lunn 49. Woodcut, 1953. Edition of 20 printed in Black There was also an edition of 500, printed in blue, published by Art In America, and editions of 20 each i...
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1950s Milton Avery Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

NUDE
NUDE
H 16 in W 20 in D 1 in

Milton Avery prints and multiples for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Milton Avery prints and multiples available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Milton Avery in drypoint, engraving, lithograph 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 prints and multiples, so small editions measuring 5 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Gene Kloss, Warrington Colescott, and Byron Browne. Milton Avery prints and multiples 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 $12,500, while the average work can sell for $3,650.

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