Photo Credit: Jennie Anne Benigas

JUDY'S JOURNAL   June 2022 “Because I lived in Hartford during my formative years I am especially pleased and honored to have one of my paintings – one which I am especially fond of – in the Atheneum collection.” Milton Avery, from “The Landscape of Milton Avery’s Connecticut Years,” essay by Erin C. Monroe, in Milton Avery, 2021.

Whenever an exhibition smacks of the word “retrospective,” I’m there. In this case, it meant an hour-plus drive to Hartford, Connecticut, where 60 Milton Avery paintings were on display. Decades ago, his portrait of “The Baby” at the Butler Institute of American Art took me by surprise. Subsequent visits to Youngstown, Ohio, meant a trip to the Butler to see this painting, one among several favorites there.

Who was this artist? His style was Matisse-tell-it-all-in-a-few-lines, but this baby kicking its leg into the air made me chuckle. Every single time. The life of “The Baby” was in the body’s gesture and in the colors Avery chose. The infant is lying on a blue blanket, perched on an upholstered armchair and tipped precariously to the right, probably mid-squirm (butlerart.com / portfolio-item /the-baby). Avery’s blue and yellow colors put me in a mood, and I felt reassured that this baby was somehow safely ensconced. Isn’t it astonishing when some paint on a canvas can pull all this emotion out of a person?

Despite seeing relatively few of his works, I became a Milton Avery fan, so when the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art advertised this exhibit, plans kicked in. My affection for that kicking baby led the way. Seeing Avery’s landscapes, portraits, and large abstractions would provide several hours of art healing time.

So, how was it? More energizing, stimulating, and joy-inducing than this blog can hold, but here are a few comments:

• Avery lived near Hartford when he was young and attended classes at the Wadsworth. The docent pointed out that the gallery where we were standing was on the original site of its art school; we could be in the exact spot where Avery set up his easel. Some people visit battlegrounds, but I prefer an artist’s home, studio, or school.
  
  
• History tells us that artistic development can be understood as a case of being in the right place at the right time. Artists cross-pollinate and teach each other. Avery was born into American Impressionism, and his 1910 oil painting, “Spindly Trees,” shows this influence. He lived in New York City and summered in Provincetown, Massachusetts, during the heyday of abstract expressionism. Among those who praised his work were Marsden Hartley, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, Hans Hoffmann. Also, if museums and galleries are life-support to an artist’s curiosity and inspiration, well, New York City is New York City. Bonus: Avery named his dog Picasso, but is that considered beside the point?
  
  
• Three places hosted this exhibition: The Wadsworth, The Royal Academy of Arts, London, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. These 60 paintings will never be hug together again, which is something that can be said about any special exhibition. Many came from museum collections or were lent by the Milton Avery Trust and The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, but 19 were from private collections. Hopefully, these collectors have left their Avery paintings to museums – I direct this comment to the owner of “Hors d’Oeuvres.” Hello, I’m talking to you!
  
  
• The exhibition catalog is available: Milton Avery. Royal Academy Publications, 2021. It is a superb example of the art of bookmaking and worth every cent. Imagine: a real book, on high-quality paper, a pleasure to hold, with the scent of a new book wafting up into your nostrils while turning pages to read about Milton Avery and look at his sublime paintings.