Bather on a Bank of Rocks
1943
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
pen and black ink on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 12.8 x 20 cm (5 1/16 x 7 7/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Sally Michel Avery
Accession Number
2002.104.2.43
Art Historical Context
In 1943, during the height of World War II, American modernist Milton Avery created *Bather on a Bank Rocks*, a delicate pen and black ink drawing on wove paper. This intimate work (12.8 x 20 cm) depicts a solitary figure reclining amid rugged rocks, evoking a moment of respite amid nature. Avery, known for his simplified forms and flattened perspectives inspired by Henri Matisse and early modernism, often explored everyday scenes like bathers and landscapes with poetic economy. The use of pen and ink on smooth wove paper highlights Avery's masterful line work—fluid contours and subtle hatchi...
About the Artist
Milton Avery
Milton Avery, born on March 7, 1885, in Altmar, New York, to a working-class family—his father a tanner—grew up in modest circumstances. After his family's move to the Hartford area of Connecticut in 1898, he took on various manual jobs, including as a mechanic, clerk, and construction worker, to support himself and relatives following family tragedies. His artistic path began around 1905 at the C...