Milton Avery facts for kids

Milton Clark Avery (born March 7, 1885 – died January 3, 1965) was an American painter. He is known for his unique style of modern painting. Avery was born in Altmar, New York. He later moved to Connecticut in 1898 and then to New York City. He was married to artist Sally Michel Avery. Their daughter, March Avery, also became an artist.

Milton Avery's Early Life

Milton Avery's father was a tanner. At age 16, Milton started working in a factory. For many years, he supported himself with different jobs. In 1915, his brother-in-law died. This meant Avery had to support nine female relatives.

He was very interested in art. He took classes at the Connecticut League of Art Students in Hartford. For years, he painted quietly while learning art. In 1917, he began working night jobs. This allowed him to paint during the day.

In 1924, he met Sally Michel, who was also an art student. They married in 1926. Sally worked as an illustrator. Her income helped Milton focus more on his painting. By the 1930s, they began to develop a special "Avery style" together. Their daughter, March Avery, was born in 1932.

Milton Avery's Art Career

From the late 1920s to the late 1930s, Avery studied at the Art Students League of New York. A collector named Roy Neuberger saw his art. He believed Avery deserved more recognition. Neuberger bought over 100 of Avery's paintings. He then lent or gave them to museums around the world. This helped Avery become a respected and successful painter.

In the 1930s, Avery became friends with artists like Adolph Gottlieb and Mark Rothko. These artists lived in New York City. Avery's use of bright colors and simple shapes influenced these younger artists.

The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. was the first museum to buy one of Avery's paintings. This happened in 1929. The same museum also gave him his first solo art show in 1944. In 1963, he was chosen as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Avery had a serious heart attack in 1949. While he was recovering, he focused on making prints. When he started painting again, his work looked different. He used paint in a new, softer way. His colors also became a bit more muted.

Milton Avery's Later Years and Death

Milton Avery passed away on January 3, 1965. He died at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, New York. He had been ill for a long time. He is buried in the Artist's Cemetery in Woodstock, New York.

After his death, his wife, Sally Avery, gave his personal papers to the Archives of American Art. This is a research center of the Smithsonian Institution.

Avery's Unique Art Style

Ink and crayon portrait of Avery by his wife, Sally Michel Avery, 1961.

Milton Avery's art was very important for American abstract painting. His paintings clearly showed real things. However, he focused on how colors worked together. He was not interested in making things look perfectly real or deep, like many traditional Western paintings.

Avery was often called the American Matisse. This was because of his colorful and new landscape paintings. His creative use of drawing and color made him stand out. Early in his career, some people thought his art was too abstract. Later, when Abstract Expressionism became popular, his work was sometimes overlooked. This was because it still showed real objects.

French Fauvism and German Expressionism influenced Avery's early work. His paintings from the 1930s were similar to those by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. By the 1940s, Avery's style became more like Henri Matisse. His later works used color in a very subtle way. Art historian Barbara Haskell said that "serenity and harmony" were in all of Avery's work. She noted that his later art showed "low-key emotions" without anger or worry.

Painter Mark Rothko, a friend of Avery's, described his art subjects. He said Avery painted his living room, Central Park, his wife Sally, and his daughter March. He also painted beaches, mountains, cows, fish, and birds. Rothko said that from these everyday things, Avery created "great canvases" that had a "gripping lyricism."

Art critic Hilton Kramer called Avery "our greatest colorist." He believed that among European artists, only Matisse achieved more with color.

Where to See Avery's Art (Public Collections)

See also

In Spanish: Milton Avery para niños