Samuel Putnam Avery (1822–1904) was an American connoisseur and art dealer.

Samuel Putnam Avery was born on March 17, 1822, in New York City,[1] where he studied wood and copper engraving and was extensively employed by leading publishers.

[2] He married the artist-collector Mary Ann Ogden in 1844 and began business as an art dealer in 1865.

In 1867, Avery was appointed commissioner in charge of the American art department of the Exposition Universelle in Paris.

He was among the founders, and for a long time a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and was a life member of several important scientific, artistic and educational associations.