Nude with Guitar

Object Details

Artist

Milton Avery, born Sand Bank, NY 1885-died New York City 1965

Luce Center Label

Milton Avery was often dismissed as a naive painter because he did not seem as sophisticated as the elite abstract expressionists who took the stage after World War II. Avery borrowed this figure's pose from Picasso, and, in fact, Nude with Guitar reflects Avery’s knowledge of modern literature as well as painting. He was fond of Wallace Stevens's 1937 poem "The Man with the Blue Guitar," based on Picasso's famous Blue Period image. The poem praised the power of art to transform everyday moments into transcendent experiences, and the guitar became Avery's personal symbol of this power, appearing in many of his canvases (Hobbs, Milton Avery, 1990).

Luce Object Quote

"I am not seeking pure abstraction; rather the purity and essence of the idea expressed in its simplest form." The artist, quoted in Hobbs, Milton Avery, 1990

Credit Line

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Louis and Annette Kaufman

1947

Object number

1977.43.1

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Painting

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

42 x 30 in. (106.7 x 76.2 cm.)

See more items in

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department

Painting and Sculpture

On View

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor, 42A

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Topic

Figure\full length

Figure\nude

Performing arts\music\guitar

Object\furniture\chair

Object\other\container

Record ID

saam_1977.43.1

Metadata Usage (text)

Not determined

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7347c5cfc-84b4-498c-8d7e-1977b962a68d