Large Tree 1943

Milton Avery made this sketch, Large Tree, with graphite on paper. He’s using mark-making to simplify the scene. It’s like he's finding the fewest possible lines to describe what he's seeing. I love the way Avery uses the graphite to create different textures. Look at the trunk of the tree and how smooth it is, versus the scribbled marks in the background. It’s super casual, like a visual shorthand for the feeling of a place, almost like musical notations. There’s this little flurry of marks in the lower right corner, like a small plant, it doesn’t quite resolve into a clear image, but the ambiguity invites you to linger. It makes me think of Matisse's line drawings, that same kind of freedom. The sketch becomes a conversation, a shared moment of seeing.