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Milton Avery
"Flight, " Expressionist Landscape with Birds Poster by Milton Avery
1985

Name: "Flight, " Expressionist Landscape with Birds Poster by Milton Avery
Brand: Milton Avery
Rating: 4.9 (67 reviews)

Price:$1,015

About the Item

"Flight" is a poster from the David Barnett Gallery's show on Milton Avery. A teal sea is seen in the background, in the foreground is a grey and blue ground. Two birds sit on this ground, a bird with a pink wing sits looking towards the left. A yellow bird is further to the right, but also looks towards the left. The most eye catching bird has begun to fly towards the scene, he is in the middle of the piece. Image: 23.75 x 34.5 in Framed: 31.375 x 42 in An American Modern Painter The son of a tanner, Avery began working at a local factory at the age of 16, and supported himself for decades with a succession of blue-collar jobs. The death of his brother-in-law in 1915 left Avery, as the sole remaining adult male in his household, responsible for the support of nine female relatives. His interest in art led him to attend classes at the Connecticut League of Art Students in Hartford, and over a period of years he painted in obscurity while receiving a conservative art education. In 1917 he began working night jobs in order to paint in the daytime. In 1924 he met Sally Michel, a young art student, and in 1926 they married; her income as an illustrator enabled him to devote himself more fully to painting. For several years in the late 1920s through the late 1930s Avery practiced painting and drawing at the Art Students League of New York. Roy Neuberger saw his work and thought he deserved recognition. Determined to get the world to know and respect Avery's work, Neuberger bought over 100 of his paintings, starting with Gaspé Landscape, and lent or donated them to museums all over the world. With the work of Milton Avery rotating through high-profile museums, he came to be a highly respected and successful painter. Avery's work is seminal to American abstract painting while his work is clearly representational, it focuses on color relations and is not concerned with creating the illusion of depth as most conventional Western painting since the Renaissance has. Avery was often thought of as an American Matisse, especially because of his colorful and innovative landscape paintings. His poetic, bold and creative use of drawing and color set him apart from more conventional painting of his era. Early in his career his work was considered too radical for being too abstract; when Abstract Expressionism became dominant his work was overlooked, as being too representational. In the 1930s he was befriended by Adolph Gottlieb and Mark Rothko among many other artists living in New York City in the 1930s-40s. The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. was the first museum to purchase one of Avery's paintings in 1929; that museum also gave him his first solo museum exhibition in 1944. Avery was a man of few words. "Why talk when you can paint?" he often quipped to his wife. Their daughter, March Avery, is also a painter. Milton Avery is buried in Artists Cemetery, Woodstock, Ulster County, New York. After his death in 1965, his widow, Sally Avery, donated the artist's personal papers to the Archives of American Art, a research center of the Smithsonian Institution. In 2007, the Archives optically scanned these papers and made them available to researchers as the Milton Avery Papers Online. While supporting himself with factory jobs, Milton Avery studied life drawing and painting at the Connecticut League of Art Students in Hartford (enrolling sometime between 1905 and 1911). In 1917 he began working nights in order to paint in the daytime. The following year he transferred to the School of the Art Society of Hartford. Avery's landscapes and seascapes of the early 1920s use the heavy impasto, light palette, and atmospheric mistiness of the American Impressionists Ernest Lawson and John Henry Twachtman. With his move to New York in 1925, where he encountered the work of Matisse and the pre-Cubist work of Picasso, Avery began to simplify forms into broad areas of close-valued color. Although Avery's art became increasingly abstract, he never abandoned representational subject matter, painting figure groups, still lifes, landscapes, and seascapes. His mature style, developed by the mid-1940s, is characterized by a reduction of elements to their essential forms, elimination of detail, and surface patterns of flattened shapes, filled with arbitrary color in the manner of Matisse. Early in Avery's career, when Social Realism and American Scene painting were the prevailing artistic styles, the semi-abstract tendencies in his work were viewed by many as too radical. In the 1950s, a period dominated by Abstract Expressionism, he was overlooked by critics because of his adherence to recognizable subject matter. Nevertheless, his work, with its emphasis on color, was important to many younger artists, particularly to Mark Rothko, Adolph Gottlieb, Barnett Newman, Helen Frankenthaler, and other Color Field painters. Avery's work is seminal to American abstract painting while his work is clearly representational, it focuses on color relations and is not concerned with creating the illusion of depth as most conventional Western painting since the Renaissance has. Avery was often thought of as an American Matisse, especially because of his colorful and innovative landscape paintings. His poetic, bold and creative use of drawing and color set him apart from more conventional painting of his era. Early in his career his work was considered too radical for being too abstract; when Abstract Expressionism became dominant his work was overlooked, as being too representational.

Creator:
Milton Avery (1885 - 1965, American)
Creation Year:
1985
Dimensions:
Height: 31.375 in (79.7 cm)Width: 42 in (106.68 cm)
Movement & Style:
Expressionist
Period:
1980-1989
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Milwaukee, WI
Reference Number:
Seller: 11169g1stDibs: LU60535513062

Shop All Milton Avery

Milton Avery

Milton Clark Avery was born in 1885 in Altmar, New York. Largely self-taught, Avery is today regarded as one of the great early modern American artists; his inspired palette, simplified forms and unwavering commitment to a figurative tradition have secured him a place not only in the canon but also in the hearts of the American public.

Always at odds with the dominant style of the time, be it the American Scene Painting and Social Realism of the 1930s and '40s or the Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s, Avery's oeuvre is a labor of singular dedication. As a boy, Avery worked factory jobs to help support his large family following their move to Connecticut in 1898. He did not seriously begin to pursue art until sometime following his father's death in 1905, when he intermittently attended classes at the Connecticut League of Art Students. He made his artistic debut in 1915 at the Wadsworth Atheneum's Fifth Annual Exhibition of Oil Painting and Sculpture.

In 1925 Avery relocated to New York to be closer to his future bride. Following his marriage in 1926 he was able to quit working and paint full time. At this time Avery replaced the light-drenched palette of his Hartford days with more muted tones. He also exchanged his heavy impasto for thin washes of pigment, which he used to create veiled fields of color.

In 1927 Avery exhibited with the Society of Independent Artists. Success quickly followed. Two of his paintings were selected for inclusion in a 1928 group show at the Opportunity Gallery in New York. Also in 1928, renowned collector Louis Kaufman became the first person to purchase a painting by the artist; and in 1929 Duncan Phillips purchased Winter Riders (1929) for the Phillips Memorial Gallery, making it Avery's first painting to enter a museum collection.

Avery's signature figurative style characterized by simple forms and flattened shapes filled with arbitrary color "in the manner of Matisse" was fully developed by the 1940s. His work as a colorist greatly influenced succeeding generations of artists, specifically Color Field painters Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, and Adolph Gottlieb. In 1944 he was given his first solo museum exhibition at the Phillips Memorial Gallery. That same year, he entered into a contract with famed dealer Paul Rosenberg, in which Rosenberg agreed to purchase 25 of Avery's paintings twice a year.

In 1952 the Baltimore Museum of Art hosted Avery's first museum retrospective, and Avery was the subject of a major article in Arts magazine by eminent art critic Clement Greenberg. In 1960 the Whitney Museum of American Art hosted his second museum retrospective.

Find authentic Milton Avery prints and paintings on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Helicline Fine Art)

Rare Milton Avery MoMA Exhibition Poster Sea Grasses & Blue Sea 1958

$2,650

H 35 in W 34 in D 0.25 in

Rare Milton Avery MoMA Exhibition Poster Sea Grasses & Blue Sea 1958

By Milton Avery

Located in St.Petersburg, FL

Extremely rare, 1988 Milton Avery, Museum of Modern Art, New York, exhibition lithograph poster of the artist's 1958 painting, "Sea Grasses and Blue Sea,...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Prints

Materials

Paper

80s Vintage Original Milton Avery Husband and Wife Exhibition Lithograph Poster

$1,850

H 0.25 in W 39 in D 32 in

80s Vintage Original Milton Avery Husband and Wife Exhibition Lithograph Poster

By Milton Avery

Located in St.Petersburg, FL

Rare, Oversized, Original, Out of Print, Milton Avery Exhibition Lithograph Print entitled "Husband and Wife" published in 1984 by the Wadsworth Atheneum Art Museum of Hartford, Conn...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Posters

Materials

Paper

Milton AveryUntitled

$39,000

H 24.41 in W 29.53 in

Untitled

By Milton Avery

Located in PARIS, FR

Milton Avery, in full Milton Clark Avery, (born March 7, 1893, Altmar, New York, U.S.—died January 3, 1965, New York City), painter noted in his lat...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Pencil, Paper, Ink

Milton AveryWhite Hen, 1957

$322,000

H 11 in W 19.5 in

White Hen

By Milton Avery

Located in London, GB

Milton Avery White Hen, 1957 Mixed Media on Board 28 x 50 cm 11 x 19 ½ inches Born in Altmar, New York, in 1885, Milton Avery moved with his family to Hartford, Connecticut in 1905....

Category

1950s Modern Animal Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Board

Copy of Milton Avery Painting, Abstract Two Female Bathers, 28x45 in

$9,600

H 28 in W 45 in D 2 in

Copy of Milton Avery Painting, Abstract Two Female Bathers, 28x45 in

Located in Queens, NY

Copy of a painting by American Abstract artist Milton Avery showing two females bathers by the water's edge. Condition: Good; Wear consistent with age and use

Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Milton AveryRelaxed Conversation, 1953

$7,000

H 14 in W 17 in

Relaxed Conversation

By Milton Avery

Located in Toronto, Ontario

Milton Avery (1885-1965) whose lyrical command of colour and form positioned him as a pivotal figure in 20th-century art. Often described as the “American Fauve,” Avery produced pai...

Category

1950s American Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Ink

Milton Avery"Country Haircut", 1945

$243,750

H 22 in W 30 in

"Country Haircut"

By Milton Avery

Located in Lambertville, NJ

Jim’s of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to offer this piece by Milton Avery (1885 – 1965). Milton Avery was a prominent Modernist painter whose work combined abstraction and...

Category

1940s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Paper

Milton Avery"Fish" Milton Avery, Mid-Century, Modernist Fish, Blue, Gray, Maine Artist, 1952

$25,000

H 12 in W 14 in

"Fish" Milton Avery, Mid-Century, Modernist Fish, Blue, Gray, Maine Artist

By Milton Avery

Located in New York, NY

Milton Avery Fish, 1952 Signed and dated twice lower left Crayon on paper 3 1/2 x 10 inches Milton Clark Avery was born in 1885 in Altmar, New York. Largely self-taught, Avery is t...

Category

1950s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Crayon

Mary ChenowethMary Chenoweth “Abstract Birds in Flight” Vintage Mid‑Century Modern Lithograph, 1970s

$2,450

H 34.25 in W 27.25 in D 1.5 in

Mary Chenoweth “Abstract Birds in Flight” Vintage Mid‑Century Modern Lithograph

By Mary Chenoweth

Located in Denver, CO

This captivating vintage lithograph by Mary Chenoweth presents a dynamic abstract interpretation of birds in flight, rendered with rhythmic movement and bold color transitions that e...

Category

1970s American Modern Animal Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Milton AveryMilton Avery Original Etching Pencil Signed, 1936, Little Girl, 1936

$3,800

H 20 in W 16 in D 0.05 in

Milton Avery Original Etching Pencil Signed, 1936, Little Girl

By Milton Avery

Located in Phoenix, AZ

Original Etching by Modernist Milton Avery (1885-1965) Image measures: 8 5/8" H x 4 5/8" W. Titled lower left - “Little Girl” Edition size: 6 of 60. Printed in 1936. In excellent co...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper

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Milton AveryFish (Blue) Woodcut Print, Framed, Rare A/P, Circa 1952, 2.38 x 9 in, 1952

Fish (Blue) Woodcut Print, Framed, Rare A/P, Circa 1952, 2.38 x 9 in

By Milton Avery

Located in Milwaukee, WI

Milton Avery Fish (blue), 1952, (A/P) Catalogue raisonné : Lunn 41. Woodcut, printed in blue2.38 x 9 in (6.05 x 22.86 cm)Framed 12.50 x 18.75 in From the blue prints, approximately 1...

Category

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Materials

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David Barnett"American Bald Eagle Flying Through Silver Clouds Between..." by David Barnett, 2018

"American Bald Eagle Flying Through Silver Clouds Between..." by David Barnett

By David Barnett

Located in Milwaukee, WI

"American Bald Eagle Flying Through Silver Clouds Between Heaven and Earth" is an original mixed media piece by David Barnett, signed on the lower left center. It incorporates watercolor, ink, iridescent acrylic, rubber stamps, collage, and oil pencil. This piece depicts a surrealist landscape. A cow with an cowl perched on its back stands in the lower left corner, and tracks lead away from it across the bottom of the picture. A small turtle approaches a pond in the lower right. In the center register of the image, two leaves have been collaged into an abstractly-drawn forest. The eagle of the title is shown in several stages of its flight through the blue and yellow sky. Art size: 7 15/16" x 9 1/2" Frame size: 15 1/4" x 16 1/8" David Barnett, an artist, collector, appraiser and gallerist has been passionate about art from the early age of five. David’s career as an art dealer began at age nineteen when, as a fine arts student, he sponsored an exhibition of work by fellow student artists. In 1966, he opened his first gallery in a converted basement apartment at Wisconsin Avenue and 21st Street. David’s talents for recognizing undervalued artists and for meeting the needs of art lovers, art collectors and artists have created a vibrant, flourishing gallery and collection of over 6,000 works of art. David was born and raised in Wisconsin. He has been painting in watercolors, acrylics, oil pastels as well as fine art photography. David has more than 10 different series he has developed over the years. They include Abstract, Surrealism, Morph Dog, Up North Birch Bark, Impressions of Mexico City, Southwest, Fireworks, Famous Artist Paying Homage and Garden Panorama. Influential artists include Vermeer, Miro, Kandinsky, Chagall, Nolde and Klee. David has been featured in many magazines, newspapers and public television programs regarding his beautiful gallery, collection and knowledge and passion of fine art. David also has work in the permanent collection Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona. Exhibits “Morph Dog Series”, David Barnett Gallery, 1996 “Renewal", Art Escape Gallery, Thiensville, WI, 2003 “Recent Watercolors", David Barnett Gallery, 2003, Lora D. Art Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2004 “Group Show”, Broden Gallery Ltd., Madison, WI, May-June 2004 "Homage to Kandinsky", David Barnett Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2014 Collections Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ Private collections throughout the United States and around the world including collections in Wisconsin, Maryland, New York, Washington D.C., Arizona, Illinois, Florida, Kentucky. International collections in Brazil, Singapore and Hong Kong. Articles Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Barnett Gives His Work an Exhibit" by James Auer, November 1996 Exclusively Yours...

Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

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Georges Braque"L'oiseau de sables (Bird of the Sands)" contemporary animal bright signed, 1962

"L'oiseau de sables (Bird of the Sands)" contemporary animal bright signed

By Georges Braque

Located in Milwaukee, WI

"L'oiseau de sables" ("Bird of the Sands") is an original signed lithograph by Georges Braque executed in 1962. It is 37 of an edition of 125. The work is one of five lithographs cre...

Category

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Materials

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Schomer Lichtner"The Flight (Duck Flying), " Silkscreen signed by Schomer Lichtner, 1949

"The Flight (Duck Flying), " Silkscreen signed by Schomer Lichtner

By Schomer Lichtner

Located in Milwaukee, WI

"The Flight (Duck Flying) is an original color silkscreen by Schomer Lichtner. The artist initialed the piece lower right. This piece features a duck in flight through red hatched lines. 4 3/4" x 6 3/4" art 13" x 15" frame Milwaukee artist, Schomer Lichtner passed away on May 9, 2006 at the age of 101. He continued to amaze and create with his whimsical paintings of ballerinas and cows. He and his late wife Ruth Grotenrath, both well-known Wisconsin artists, began their prolific careers as muralists for WPA projects, primarily post offices. Schomer Lichtner was well known for his whimsical cows and ballerinas, such as his "Ballerina Dancing on Cow" sculpture below. The late James Auer, art critic for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel referred to Lichtner as the artist laureate of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the official artist of the Milwaukee Ballet. Lichtner also painted murals for industry and private clients. Schomer was a printmaker and produced block prints, lithographs, and serigraph prints. His casein (paint made from dairy products) and acrylic paintings are of the rural Wisconsin landscape and farm animals. He became interested in cows when he and Ruth spent summers near Holy Hill in Washington County. According to David Gordon, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum, Schomer Lichtner had a tremendous joie de vivre, " joy of life," and expressed it in his art. Schomer Lichtner was nationally known for his whimsical paintings and sculptures of black- and white-patterned Holstein cows...

Category

1940s American Modern Animal Prints

Materials

Screen

David Barnett (1947)Million Dollar Baby: Homage to Milton Avery's Maternity (1933), 2008

Million Dollar Baby: Homage to Milton Avery's Maternity (1933)

By David Barnett (1947)

Located in Milwaukee, WI

Framed dimensions: 16.13 x 15 in Signed lower right corner "David Barnett" in silver pen Inscribed in pencil upper right "Milton Avery"

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

David Barnett"Bird, " Original Early Pencil Drawing signed by David Barnett, 1969

"Bird, " Original Early Pencil Drawing signed by David Barnett

By David Barnett

Located in Milwaukee, WI

"Bird" is an original pencil drawing by David Barnett, signed along the bottom edge. The entire work is about the size of a postage stamp and includes an abstract representation of a...

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