Nude Arrangement c. 1940s

Milton Avery made this nude arrangement drawing with ink on paper. Looking at those quick, scratchy lines, I can imagine Avery hunkered over this drawing, totally absorbed, trying to capture the essence of the figure with the most direct marks possible. There’s something so intimate about a nude drawing, right? Like you’re getting a peek into a private moment between artist and model, or even just the artist and their own perception. I feel like I can sense Avery’s thought process as he’s working, deciding where to add a little shading, a little definition, and where to leave things open and ambiguous. That is a really vulnerable and generous thing for an artist to share. You can see the influence of Matisse in the way he simplifies forms and uses line to create volume. I think that artists have an ongoing conversation with each other across time, inspiring and challenging each other to see the world in new ways.