Self-Portrait 1937

This is Milton Avery’s self-portrait from 1937, a delicate dance of lines etched onto a plate. I can almost see him there, bending over the metal, scratching away with a drypoint needle, pulling back to squint and assess. Look at how he uses horizontal lines to flatten the space behind his head, setting off the more detailed work on his face. The cross-hatching creates a sense of depth, but also keeps the image on the surface. It's kind of like he's saying, "I'm here, but I'm also just an image." I wonder what he was thinking about as he made this? Was he trying to capture a likeness, or was he more interested in the process of mark-making? It reminds me of other artists like, say, Matisse, who similarly played with line and form. Artists working through and with each other. Each mark contributes to the emotional and intellectual resonances of the work. I’m especially drawn to the way he renders his eyes, conveying a sense of both introspection and quiet observation. Artists like Avery teach us that the conversation never ends; it just keeps evolving through each new mark we make.