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Lot Essay
Milton Avery's family was a continual source of inspiration, particularly after the birth of his daughter March, in 1932. Each summer the Avery family left the crowded streets of New York City to seek refuge in a coastal area. From 1930 to 1940, the Averys spent nine of their summers in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and one on Gaspé Peninsula in Canada. In the summer of 1941, the family drove across the country to California. On their journey, they made stops at Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks before settling in Laguna Beach, California for a month. It was likely during this sojourn that Avery captured his family lounging and enjoying the cool breeze of the ocean in Evening Beach. With only hints of simple outlines and a flattened picture plane, Avery creates a peaceful scene where the bathers are able to unwind and allow themselves to get lost in the seemingly endless rippling waves making their way towards the shore. His palette of blues and greens envelops the scene and allows a sense of calm to settle over the figures as they lazily bask on the sand.
Avery's ability to transform a composition by altering the palette and suggesting forms with rough outlines, became characteristic of his signature style. He believed "a painting should be flat and lie on one plane rather than evoke what [he] called photographic depth. He championed simplified, precisely delineated forms and flattened color masses when few were willing to listen. Perhaps [his] greatest legacy was his ability to abstract the mood of a place or situation with color. Although other Americans had concentrated on color in their paintings, [his] use of soft, lyrical color to evoke subtle emotion was unique in American art. His simplification of form and luminous color harmonies provided a model for future generations of American colorists." (B. Haskell, Milton Avery, New York, 1982, p. 56)
The present work is being sold with a preparatory drawing by Milton Avery. The drawing is pencil on paper, measures 8½ x 11 in. (21.6 x 27.9 cm.) and is signed 'Milton Avery' at the lower right.
Avery's ability to transform a composition by altering the palette and suggesting forms with rough outlines, became characteristic of his signature style. He believed "a painting should be flat and lie on one plane rather than evoke what [he] called photographic depth. He championed simplified, precisely delineated forms and flattened color masses when few were willing to listen. Perhaps [his] greatest legacy was his ability to abstract the mood of a place or situation with color. Although other Americans had concentrated on color in their paintings, [his] use of soft, lyrical color to evoke subtle emotion was unique in American art. His simplification of form and luminous color harmonies provided a model for future generations of American colorists." (B. Haskell, Milton Avery, New York, 1982, p. 56)
The present work is being sold with a preparatory drawing by Milton Avery. The drawing is pencil on paper, measures 8½ x 11 in. (21.6 x 27.9 cm.) and is signed 'Milton Avery' at the lower right.