Avery is a native of Los Angeles, California. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree with a dual major in studio art (painting, sculpture and graphic arts) and art history from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Avery served in the United States Army with an active tour of duty in Viet Nam from 1966-67. He was awarded a Purple Heart and the Army Commendation Medal.

Avery serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Mayme Clayton Library & Museum (MCLM). MCLM was founded by Mayme A. Clayton, Ph.D. (1923-2006) in 1981 as Western States Black Research Center (recently renamed in Dr. Clayton’s honor). MCLM is a 501(c)(3) public interest organization that maintains the world’s largest and most academically substantial privately held collection of rare and out-of-print books, documents, films, music, photographs and memorabilia on African American culture and history. The Mayme Agnew Clayton Collection is second in the world in size and scholarly scope to the renowned Schomburg Collection in the New York City Public Library.

Avery is leading the effort to preserve and share the Mayme Agnew Clayton Collection to advance research, public edification, and establish the Mayme Clayton Library & Museum as a world-class research and education center; a repository for endangered African American collections; a museum for contemporary art; and a media center for film and live performances.

A fine artist, Avery’s original works are included in prominent private and public collections, worldwide. Avery has owned and operated Creative Concepts International, a fine art publishing and distribution firm since 1981. He has received many private and corporate commissions to include a 1984 Los Angeles Organizing Committee Olympic Mural Commission; Seven Up Bottling Companies of Southern California, American Cancer Society, Kaiser-Permanente Hospitals, Charles Drew Medical School, Broadway Federal Savings, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, LA, Conference of Black Churches, NYC, DuPont Corporation, Jackie Robinson Center and the American Heart Association, to name a few.

Pen & ink, watercolor, oils and acrylics are Avery’s primary mediums. Reproductions of his works are available throughout the United States and abroad.

Avery taught art for Los Angeles and Pasadena Unified School Districts from 1986 until 2001. He took an early retirement to focus full-time on attention on the Mayme Agnew Clayton Collection of African American History & Culture and the establishment of the Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum in Culver City, California.

Contact Information: (310) 202-1647
E-mail: averyclaytonart@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.wsbrec.org