Milton Avery

Milton Avery (1885–1965) is celebrated for his luminous paintings of landscapes, figures and still lifes, which balance the distillation of form with free, vigorous brushwork and lyrical colour.

Avery pursued an independent and steadfast course throughout his career. Drawing imagery from the world around him — particularly the landscapes and people he loved — his art is as intimate and accessible as it is ambitious and accomplished. With his focus on simplified forms and his use of colour as a primary means of expression, he profoundly influenced and won the admiration of fellow artists, including future Abstract Expressionists Mark Rothko, Adolph Gottlieb and Barnett Newman. Rothko, in particular, praised the “gripping lyricism” of Avery’s work.

Yet while seeking to express an idea in its simplest form, Avery never pursued pure abstraction. Above all, he is an artist who resists categorisation. “I never have any rules to follow,” he stated in 1952, “I follow myself.”