Hughes, Robert Studley Forrest

▪ 1998

      Following three years of work, respected Australian art critic and writer Robert Hughes launched in May 1997 an eight-part television series for PBS—American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America. Like the richly illustrated companion book of the same title, the highly acclaimed series explored the emergence of art in the United States as a reflection of the political and social events of the times. Hughes, who had a distinctive style of criticism—characterized by a dynamic, accessible, and succinct writing style—narrated the TV series and provided the text for the companion book.

      Hughes was born on July 28, 1938, in Sydney. After graduating (1956) from St. Ignatius College, a Jesuit school in Sydney, he entered the University of Sydney. Though initially drawn to law and architecture, he abandoned his studies when, though not formally trained, he began painting and drawing political cartoons for local newspapers. He turned to art criticism when he covered an art show for a newspaper that had fired its critic. His lifelong interest in modern art inspired him to continue writing criticism for such Australian journals as the Observer and the Nation. In 1961 he was hired to write an exhibition catalog and contracted by Penguin Books to write a history of Australian art. Though he completed his studies in architecture in 1962, he had already found his niche in art criticism.

      Hughes moved to Italy in 1964, traveling extensively to study firsthand the painting and architecture of Europe. The result was a second book, Heaven and Hell in Western Art (1968). By that time he had settled in London and had established himself as a freelance writer for The Observer and the Sunday Times newspapers. He also produced dozens of art documentaries for BBC-TV. On the basis of his growing reputation, he was hired in 1970 by Time magazine to serve as its art critic.

      Hughes's television initiation in the United States came in 1978 when he was named cohost of the ABC-TV magazine series 20/20. His debut was a failure, but he rebounded nicely with the eight-part television series The Shock of the New, an exploration of the impact of modern art and architecture. Appearing on PBS in 1981, the series showcased his prickly, critical style, his refreshingly frank viewpoint, and his penetrating appraisals.

      Other books followed, including The Fatal Shore (1987), an epic history of his native Australia, as well as Barcelona (1992) and The Culture of Complaint (1993). Hughes, the only critic to twice receive the Frank Jewett Mather Award (1982 and 1985), also was given an honorary doctorate (1995) from the University of Melbourne and elected (1993) to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

SUSAN DOLL

* * *