Sally with Beret 1939

Curator: Milton Avery’s etching, “Sally with Beret,” created in 1939, strikes me with its bold, economic lines. Editor: There's something about her expression, almost world-weary, yet a touch of defiant intelligence shines through. It reminds me of portraits from the interwar period, a specific moment in cultural history, but distilled through a singular gaze. Curator: Yes, the line work is critical here. Look at the horizontal lines in the background, setting a stark contrast to the softer textures of her beret and the fur collar. Consider that this is an etching. We see the direct marks from the artist. Each line holds information. I am also intrigued by what is absent, what remains unarticulated in this piece. Editor: Agreed. Those simple horizontal lines seem almost like a visual sigh. And that beret, perched just so…in art history, the beret becomes a symbol of intellectual and artistic independence. To place Sally in such a symbolic landscape creates meaning around her, while her gaze engages the viewer to create meaning. Curator: Precisely! The work has social context. Was the artist engaged in a form of visual shorthand? Is it a direct reference or more incidental? And, moreover, the choice of etching as a medium during that period… Was this more cost-effective or speak to more democratized forms of artistic production and distribution? Editor: And consider the checkered fabric beneath the fur, so simply rendered, almost childlike. Yet it brings forth memories of more elaborate portraits throughout Western art that would establish the figure against patterned wallpaper or fabrics. Curator: It serves a visual function, sure. The cross-hatching offers visual support. At the same time, this print appears as one of 100 from that era, pointing to interesting questions around mass culture, labour, and accessibility that are deeply connected to artistic experimentation happening in that moment. Editor: Thank you. By attending to details, we might remember shared cultural codes and begin to think of what Sally and the beret represent more generally. Curator: Indeed, material informs our experience and expands cultural context, revealing connections that add complexity to an artwork like this portrait.