Milton Avery’s star has been on a slow yet steady ascendance. Yesterday, a fresh and austerely handsome retrospective on Avery, comprising nearly 70 paintings, opened at London’s Royal Academy of Arts after well-received presentations this past year at Fort Worth’s Modern Art Museum and Hartford’s Wadsworth Atheneum. The London showing is the first comprehensive museum exhibition of Avery ever to take place in Europe.
Throughout his long life, Avery continually seemed to be working in the wrong style at the wrong time. It didn’t help matters that it was a long slog for him to even become an artist, despite his admirable dedication. Born in 1885 in Altmar, New York, and raised in Connecticut, Avery spent his teen and early adult years toiling away at menial factory and clerical jobs in and around Hartford; he took art classes during his off-hours.
