Post War & Contemporary Art 
15 March 2023
Post War & Contemporary Art 
110

Milton Avery 1885–1965

Trees, Light and Dark

1955
crayon, watercolor and mixed media on paper 22 h × 17 w in (56 × 43 cm)
estimate: $8,000–12,000
result: $22,680
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Signed and dated to lower left ‘Milton Avery 1955’. Signed, titled and dated to verso ‘Trees, Light and Dark Milton Avery 1955’.
provenance: Snyder Fine Art, New York | DC Moore Gallery, New York | Private Collection
exhibited: Milton Avery, 1 November- 7 December 1996, Snyder Fine Art, New York | Milton Avery: Paintings and Works on Paper, 3 - 27 February 1999, DC Moore Gallery, New York

This work will ship from Lambertville, New Jersey.

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Milton Avery, "Trees, Light and Dark"

Milton and Sally Avery spent the summer of 1955 at the Yaddo Colony, an artist’s retreat located in Saratoga Springs, New York. During his stay, he produced a number of works including many landscapes on paper in which he was able to be more experimental with his process, utilizing different materials and techniques. The present lot, Trees, Light and Dark, is an outstanding example from this period. It depicts a muted, incandescent landscape composed of two trees possibly symbolizing “abstraction” and “representation”. Avery has masterfully contrasted the two approaches, exploring the potential of watercolor in the tree on the left, allowing the medium to pool in places, creating abstract passages between positive and negative space. The work’s skillful combination of formal elements has made it an essential example of Avery at his best and showcases his reductionist approach to drawing and painting.

The idea is in my head; to put it down is nothing.

Milton Avery

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