Untitled
Milton Avery
MILTON AVERY, 1954. OIL ON CANVAS.
At the start of his career, in the first quarter of the 20th Century, Milton Avery was overlooked for being too radical, too abstract and not figurative enough for the vogue of the day. Some 20 years later, when Abstract Expression rose to be the dominant American art movement, Milton Avery was overlooked once again for being too figurative and not abstract enough. An artist perpetually caught in the middle, he was nonetheless a hugely respected figure and a mentor and inspiration to a young Mark Rothko and Adolph Gottleib who saw a way forward through his abstracted, flat, colourful images. Avery and his wife Sally created what became known as the Avery Style, developing a color plane style of painting and color theory to go alongside, they were considered on par only with Matisse in their understanding of palettes. Today, Avery’s images feel contemporary and familiar, so influential and stolen has his style been. Yet more than 100 years, Avery was taking unknown steps into representation, striving towards a new future that was as beautiful as it was colorful.