Birds and Sea
1955
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
color woodcut on wove paper
Dimensions
image: 25.1 x 61 cm (9 7/8 x 24 in.) sheet: 30.5 x 74 cm (12 x 29 1/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of the Avery Family, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
Accession Number
1991.233.83
Art Historical Context
**Birds and Sea (1955) by Milton Avery is a captivating color woodcut on wove paper, measuring 25.1 x 61 cm for the image and 30.5 x 74 cm for the sheet. This print evokes the serene interplay of avian life and ocean expanses, rendered with Avery's signature economy of line and vibrant hues. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Department of Modern Prints (CG-W), it was generously gifted by the Avery Family to honor the museum's 50th anniversary. Avery, a pivotal American modernist (1885–1965), bridged Impressionism's lyricism with the bold simplifications that inspired Abstract Expression...
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...