My Wife Sally 1934

Here's "My Wife Sally," a print by Milton Avery. Look at the etched lines, like whispered secrets mapping out Sally’s form. I imagine Avery hunched over the plate, acid biting into metal, each line a delicate dance between intention and chance. The light from the lamp pools around Sally, who is depicted reading. I wonder, was this a quiet moment stolen from a busy day? Or a portrait of shared solitude? Avery's been simplifying form in his paintings for years, so it's cool to see that etching offers him a different way of finding essence. The horizontality of the lines is a compositional choice that resonates with the domestic scene. Avery’s work always feels like a personal meditation, echoing back to artists like Matisse and looking forward to painters today. It reminds me that we're all in this ongoing conversation, trying to distill experience, to find new ways of seeing and feeling.