Milton Avery 65 MILTON AVERY
Mother and Child by the Sea 1944 Watercolor on paper Signed and dated lower left edge of sheet; retains Riva Yares Gallery label frame verso Composition/sheet (vis.): 21.5" x 29.75" Frame: 30" x 38" (Composition/sheet: 55 x 76 cm) P ROVENA NC E Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
$60,000–$70,000
Milton Avery began his study of abstract form at a time when such a style was certainly not popular in the United States. Deemed the “American Matisse,” Avery was highly influenced by the expressiveness of French Fauvism, whose members used color to express emotion rather than accurately represent their subject, though Avery’s color palette tended more towards the subtle pastels favored by the Impressionists than the bold colors of the Fauvists. He combined this with the “untutored look” of folk art to create a new brand of American modernism. His works are often described as airy and full of whimsy, and in his landscapes, still lifes, and figure studies, Avery examined the most basic forms of his subjects by flattening his volumes to the point of almost eliminating any sense of perspective. To realize his characteristically lyrical mood, Avery purposely left out “unnecessary” realistic details, that in his opinion, “disorganized space in the canvas.” Avery’s prominent influence can easily be read in the work of later Color Field painters like Mark Rothko and Adolph Gottlieb, who extended Avery’s simplification of form to its natural end point.
66 MILTON AVERY Sleeping Nude
1958 Flobrush and ink on paper Signed and dated lower left sheet; retains Comsky Gallery label frame verso Composition/sheet: 13.875" x 16.75" Frame: 20.25" x 23.25" (Composition/sheet: 35 x 43 cm) PROV EN A N C E Barbara Walbridge, La
Chastain, C. “Avery, Milton Clark (1885-1965), artist.” American National Biography, Feb, 2000.
Jolla, California; Thence by descent; Christie’s, New York, New York, September 27, 2011, lot 53
$3,000–$5,000
49
67 MILTON AVERY Nude with Stool
1952 Felt-tip marker on paper Signed and dated lower right; retains The Pollock Gallery and Waddington Galleries labels frame verso Sheet: 16.75" x 13.75" Frame: 26.5" x 22.5" (Sheet: 43 x 35 cm) PROV EN A N C E The Pollock Gallery, Toronto, Canada; Christie’s, New York, New York, June 22, 2011, lot 170
$3,000–$5,000