The Influence of American Artists on Joan Miró

It was really American painting that inspired me. - Joan Miró

The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. is exhibiting the works of Joan Miró  (1893-1983) alongside the works of American artists who inspired him.

 

 

Miró was born in Barcelona and moved to Paris in 1920. In Paris he socialized with Pablo Picasso, French surrealist painters and American writer Ernest Hemingway. He developed an expressive style that was clearly his own, and had his first solo show in Paris in 1921. 

 

His first solo exhibit in the U.S. took place in 1930 at the Valentine Gallery in New York. American critics  and collectors were not ready to receive Miró’s works and not a single work was sold.

 

Henri Matisse’s son, Pierre, had opened a gallery in New York and included Miró’s works in several exhibits during the 1930s. His works slowly gained acceptance in the U.S. and he was given a retrospective at MoMA in 1941.

 

Miró traveled to the U.S. between 1947 and 1968. The works he saw by American artists like Alexander Calder, Mark Rothko, Adoph Gottlieb, Jackson Pollack and Helen Frankenthaler had a profound influence on his works.

 

Miró and the United States is co-organized with the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona. The exhibit opened on March 26 and will be on view at the Phillips Collection through July 5, 2026.

 

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Milton Avery (1885-1965) was an ‘artists’ artist’. It was his unique style that influenced many of the artists whose paintings are included in the Miró exhibit. It is his bold colors and distinctive quality that continue to influence artists today. Ironically, not a single work by Avery, who is considered the American Matisse, is included in the exhibit at the Phillips Collection.

 

 

Avery’s works are being shown at the Karma Gallery in Los Angeles through March 28th and at the Malta International Contemporary Arts Space through April 4, 2026.

 

“I’ve always felt connected to Avery, but when I revisit his work I’m always surprised by the similarities in my work and his, like way more than I was conscious of. It’s really a testament to Avery’s influence.” artist Jonas Wood said, in an interview in W Magazine. “Avery is doing what I try to get to with my paintings, which is simplifying things and finding the balance in just a few elements.”

 

Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko, By the Sea, published this month, explores the relationship between Milton Avery and the two young artists whom he inspired. The book was edited by curator Eliza Rathbone with contributions by Avery’s daughter, March Avery Cavanaugh and grandson, Sean Cavanaugh, both artists. 

 

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References:

Maxine Wally. 7 Artists Share Painter Milton Avery’s Impact on Their Work. W Magazine. March 8, 2026.

 

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Please contact us if you would like more information about the work of  Joan Miró and Milton Avery available at Surovek Gallery.

March 26, 2026