For much of his career, Milton Avery occupied an awkward position within American modernism. During the 1930s, as Social Realism dominated New York exhibitions and government-sponsored art programmes, he was repeatedly urged by dealers, critics and acquaintances to adopt a more explicit narrative language that addressed the crises of the Great Depression. At the same time, as close friends such as Adolph Gottlieb and Mark Rothko moved decisively towards abstraction, others encouraged him to abandon figuration altogether. Avery resisted both pressures.

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