The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., is currently hosting “Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea,” an exhibition that explores the intertwined artistic journeys of Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, and Mark Rothko. Running through January 24, the show presents around 90 works, including pieces not previously exhibited, and highlights the evolution of these artists from representational imagery to abstraction.
The exhibition begins with recognizable scenes from summers the three painters spent along the Massachusetts coast. Paintings depict sunbathers, harbor views, and figures observing a solar eclipse—familiar subjects that reflect the artists' early collaborations and mutual influences. As visitors move through the gallery, the figurative forms increasingly dissolve into abstraction, illustrating their progressive departures from traditional representational art.
Research accompanying the exhibition reveals the artists’ creative processes in detail. Infrared imaging of Avery’s 1941 painting “Girl Writing” uncovered underdrawings of desk legs later painted out, leaving the desk seemingly floating in space. Similarly, Rothko revised works such as “Green and Maroon” (1953), where earlier color arrangements were painted over to achieve his signature fields of color. Conservators observed paint drips and alterations suggesting Rothko’s experimental techniques, including working on canvases inverted.
The three artists shared a unique mentorship and friendship. Avery, who was nearly twenty years senior, introduced Rothko and Gottlieb to working on colored construction paper—a foundational step that influenced their compositional development. The trio often sketched each other as models, and Avery gifted Rothko a preliminary study that is displayed alongside its finished counterpart for the first time.
As World War II loomed, Rothko and Gottlieb incorporated themes of mythology, surrealism, and the unconscious mind into their work. In contrast, Avery remained committed to natural subjects but moved towards abstraction in his representations. For instance, Gottlieb’s “The Seer” (1950) combines symbolic imagery such as grids of eyes and human forms, while Avery’s “Black Sea” (1959) reduces a shoreline to broad fields of color, retaining only a hint of surf to evoke the landscape.
The exhibition encourages visitors to engage deeply with the works. Parallel to this, the National Gallery of Art across town has promoted careful observation and discussion through its virtual “Art of Looking” program, which has attracted thousands since 2020. Deirdre Palmer, manager of tours and docent programs at the National Gallery, emphasizes the value of slowing down to consider an artwork thoroughly. Visitors to the Phillips can choose to follow the show’s chronological narrative or explore at their own pace, spending extended time with pieces that capture their attention.
Rothko’s stated aim was to express fundamental human emotions—such as tragedy and ecstasy—through his large-scale paintings. He sought to create an intimate experience that drew viewers inside the canvas, encouraging personal interpretation rather than prescribing a fixed meaning. According to Renée Maurer, associate curator at the Phillips, the works invite viewers to complete the artistic process through their own engagement.
“Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea” offers a compelling look at how these artists transformed their shared experiences and influences into pioneering abstract art, bridging the natural world and the realm of emotion and imagination.