Milton Avery

Milton Avery (1885-1965) worked as an assembler, mechanic and latheman before enrolling in art classes in 1905. In the late 1930's he worked as an artist for the WPA Federal Art Project. Avery focused on figure painting, then turned to landscapes and seascapes later in his career. The elemental forms and surface patterns and color of his work has been compared to Henri Matisse while the heavy impasto and light palette has its roots in American Impressionism. Although considered an abstract painter, the flattened surface of his works still reference recognizable forms. A prolific painter, Avery produced thousands of paintings during his lifetime.