Early Life and Career
Milton Clark Avery, an American modern painter, was born on March 7, 1885, in Altmar, New York. He moved to Connecticut in 1898 and later to New York City. As the son of a tanner, Avery began working at a local factory at the age of 16 and supported himself with various blue-collar jobs.
Artistic Journey
Avery's interest in art led him to attend classes at the
Connecticut League of Art Students in Hartford. He practiced painting in obscurity, receiving a conservative art education. In 1917, he began working night jobs to paint during the daytime.
Marriage and Support
In 1924, Avery met
Sally Michel, a young art student, and they married in 1926. Her income as an illustrator enabled him to focus more on painting. They had a daughter,
March Avery, in 1932.
Rise to Prominence
Avery's big break came when
Roy Neuberger discovered his work and decided to promote it. Neuberger bought over 100 of Avery's paintings, including
Gaspé Landscape, and lent or donated them to museums worldwide. This exposure led to Avery becoming a highly respected and successful painter.
Associations and Legacy
Avery befriended notable artists like
Adolph Gottlieb and
Mark Rothko in New York City during the 1930s-40s. The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., was the first museum to purchase one of Avery's paintings in 1929 and gave him his first solo exhibition in 1944.
Artistic Style and Influences
Avery's work is seminal to American abstract painting, focusing on color relations. His style was influenced by French Fauvism and German Expressionism, with his early work resembling
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's paintings. By the 1940s, Avery's style became more similar to
Henri Matisse, using color with great subtlety.
- Key Artworks:
- Museums featuring Avery's work:
- Notable Associations:
Legacy and Death
Avery died on January 3, 1965, at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, New York. He is buried in the Artist's Cemetery in Woodstock, Ulster County, New York. After his death, his widow,
Sally Avery, donated his personal papers to the Archives of American Art, a research center of the Smithsonian Institution.
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