1 col.

Milton Avery, “Sally Sketching,” circa 1930s, watercolor on paper, 229/16 by 15 inches.

2 cols

Milton Avery, “The Arts,” circa 1930s, watercolor on paper, 15½ by 22½ inches.

FOR 5-11

MILTON AVERY AND WATERCOLOR AT KNOEDLER & CO. w/2 cuts

ak/gs set 5-2 #698163

NEW YORK CITY — Watercolor has preoccupied Milton Avery (American, 1893–1965) since the earliest days of his career, and this medium has long been recognized as among his most distinctive artistic achievements. “Magical Means: Milton Avery and Watercolor,” on view at Knoedler & Co. gallery through August 10, includes approximately 40 works spanning various subjects and four decades, from the late 1920s through 1950s. Many of these watercolors have been in the private collection of the artist’s family since his death in 1965, and have never been previously exhibited.

The diverse subjects of Avery’s watercolors include his rarely seen early urban landscapes, shore scenes and still lifes. Many depict the various locales of summer trips made by the Avery family; the artist never seemed to lose his sense of delight in the variations of motif to be discovered on the Gaspé Peninsula and Cape Cod, in Gloucester, San Miguel de Allende, Pemaquid Point and elsewhere. In each locale Avery found the medium of watercolor particularly well suited for rendering the sunlit summer atmosphere — nuance effects of light on land and sea.

In the watercolors, by the application of transparent layers of pure color on paper, Avery achieved images with a high degree of immediacy and abstraction. They are testaments to his remarkably modern, abstract vision.

During his lifetime, Avery regularly presented gallery exhibitions dedicated to his watercolors: in 1928, 1933, 1936, 1943, 1946 and 1959. His first museum show, at The Phillips Collection in 1944, was, in fact, an exhibition of watercolors.

The exhibition is accompanied by a 60-page catalog with an essay by Ruth Fine.

For general information, www.knoedlergallery.com or 212-794-0550.