Milton Avery’s luminous paintings are characterised by bold colours and flat shapes. ‘I do not use linear perspective,’ he once said, ‘but achieve depth by color.’ Born in Upstate New York in 1885, Avery straddled American Impressionism and Abstract Expressionism — though he identified with neither movement — and drew inspiration from European Modernism, particularly Matisse and Cézanne, who prioritised colour in their compositions.

Over the course of his prolific career, he painted everything from landscapes and seascapes to the city, domestic life and portraits. In his late work, he favoured non-associative colours in his compositions and a pared-back subject matter. Two Figures on Beach is one such brilliant example. Executed in 1950, it shows the modernist flattening, colour sensibility and simplified forms, for which he became celebrated.

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