Born on this day in 1885, Milton Avery became one of the most subtly powerful artists in midcentury America.
In addition to his paintings, Avery demonstrated his mastery of figurative line and shape in drypoint and monotype prints.
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A-very Happy Birthday
Born on this day in 1885, Milton Avery became one of the most subtly powerful artists in midcentury America.
In addition to his paintings, Avery demonstrated his mastery of figurative line and shape in drypoint and monotype prints.
Have a look at today's artworks and judge his versatility for yourself! Avery's self-portrait is an example of his drypoint technique. The portrait of his wife, shown below, illustrates the simplified forms and flattened space that would, along with clear, unmodulated color, become the hallmarks of his later work.
Pictured top: Milton Avery, 1885–1965, Self-Portrait, 1937, drypoint on paper, 7 15/16 x 6 7/16 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase.
Source: Virginia M. Mecklenburg. The Patricia and Phillip Frost Collection: American Abstraction 1930–1945 (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press for the National Museum of American Art, 1989).
Pictured bottom: Milton Avery, 1885–1965, Sally Avery with Still Life, 1926, oil on cotton, 30 x 25 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Louis and Annette Kaufman.