Image scanned from a transparency and color-corrected by Pat Cagney.

Portrait of Milton Avery

Artist Byron Browne (American, 1907-1961)

CultureAmerican

Date1959

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 48 x 36 in. (121.9 x 91.4 cm)
Overall, Frame: 56 x 44 in. (142.2 x 111.8 cm)

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.844

Not on view

DescriptionSlightly abstracted portrait of a man sitting on a red chair. His shirt is blue and his pants are yellow.
Label TextByron Browne American (1907-1961) Portrait of Milton Avery, 1959 Oil on canvas Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.844 In his portrait of fellow artist, Milton Avery, Byron Browne balances traditional representation with the lively gestural brushwork found in action painting. His use of bold colors and quick calligraphic lines seems to express the natural energy present in the human form and, perhaps, even the artistic mind. Throughout his career Browne insisted that abstract forms are never separate from life, and he never fully abandoned references to the natural world in his work. While some may see this portrait as Browne challenging his own painting techniques, others may question whether this is just an example of an older artist adapting to, or even chasing, the new and more popular abstract style of the period. Exhibition History"American Figure Painting, 1950-1980," The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., October 17 - November 30, 1980. Published ReferencesThomas W. Styron, _American Figure Painting 1950-1980_, exh. cat., The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., 1980, 50, 111.