Milton Avery is considered one of North America’s greatest 20th-century colourists. According to The New York Times, “Only Matisse – to whose art he owed much, of course – produced a greater achievement in this respect”. Avery’s career fell between the movements of the American Impressionists and the Abstract Expressionists, leaving him to forge a staunchly independent path.
This is the first comprehensive exhibition of Avery’s work in Europe (from 15 July 2022). It brings together a selection of around 70 paintings from the 1930s – 1960s that are among his most celebrated. These works typically feature scenes of daily life, including portraits of loved ones and serene landscapes from his visits to Maine and Cape Cod.
Marvel in the colour sensibility and balance that runs throughout his work – a style that was to have a major influence on the next generation.
It is a long overdue celebration of an American master who, in Rothko’s words, celebrated the world around him with a poetry that “penetrated every pore of the canvas to the very last touch of the brush”.
Image: Installation view of the Milton Avery: American Colourist exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London (15 July - 16 October 2022). Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry. © 2022 Milton Avery Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York and DACS, London 2022
