Untitled (Lady in Red), ca. 1938-1942

Provenance

Mr. George P. Davis

Judith Davis Levitan, daughter of above, acquired from above

Ken Levitan, son of above, acquired from above

Private collection, New York, New York

Matthew Rosenfeld / Pennsylvania Art Conservatory, Berwyn, Pennsylvania

Private collection, New York, New York, acquired from above

Note: This painting has been authenticated and catalogued by the Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation as identification number A 42222.

With its flat planes of luminous color, this portrait exemplifies Avery’s compositional style. As historian Barbara Haskell describes, “Already apparent by the early thirties was Avery’s predilection for compositions based on large, closely modulated color areas,” continuing, “this interplay between recognizable forms and abstract shapes always characterizes Avery’s best paintings.”_[1]

_[1] Barbara Haskell, Milton Avery (New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1982), 45, 49.