March Avery (American, b. 1932)
Taking in the Nets, 1967
Oil on canvas, 22 H. x 16 W. inches
Signed and dated, upper right: March Avery ‘67
Signed and titled verso: Taking in the Nets / ’67 / March Avery
Provenance:
Visual Images Art Gallery, Wellfleet, Mass., 1982
Private collection, New York, until the present
March Avery was born on October 12, 1932. Her dad, Milton Avery and her mother, Sally Michel Avery, were both artists. Although her dad was an influential and renowned American artist, she never received an art lesson from him. Instead of praise or critiques when shown her artwork, he would tell her to “paint me another”. Growing up, she learned to avoid the messy lives of him and his artist friends including Mark Rothko, Adolf Gottlieb, Barnett Newman, and Marsden Hartley.
She began to make art daily by the age of two. From then on, Avery started to developed a style that was from direct observation of the world. Her first solo exhibition was in 1963 and she continues to paint until this day.
Her art takes her observations from everyday life and simplifies them into abstract and flat forms. Her paintings are direct, with strong colors, and a simple eloquence. And even though she never got lessons from her dad, her style definitely speaks to a strong influence from his.
Exhibits and Collections: Brooklyn Museum, Allentown Pennsylvania Museum of Art, New Britain Museum, The Chrysler Museum, Bryn Mawr College, Newark Museum, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Woodstock Art Association, Farnsworth Art Museum, Vanderbilt University, and more.