Fantail Pigeon 1953

Milton Avery pulled this Fantail Pigeon print in 1953. It's a woodcut, so he probably spent hours carving away at the block. It’s so pared back. Look at the way he’s reduced the bird to these essential shapes. The body is a solid mass, while the tail explodes into a patterned fan. He must have been thinking about Marsden Hartley and those stark, powerful images. It's interesting how he used the negative space to define the form. It makes me think about how sometimes it's what you leave out that matters most. It's as if he's saying, "Here's the essence of a pigeon. Now, you fill in the rest." And, in a way, that's what all us painters do, isn't it? We offer a glimpse, an invitation, and hope someone else will join the conversation.