Roberta Smith

Roberta Smith
Name	Roberta Smith
Birth date	1948
Birth place	New York City, United States
Occupation	Art critic, journalist
Employer	The New York Times
Years active	1975–present

Roberta Smith is an American art critic and journalist widely known for her long tenure at The New York Times and for shaping contemporary discourse on visual art in the United States and internationally. She has written influential reviews and essays on painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and museum practice, engaging with institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Guggenheim Museum. Her critiques have addressed artists ranging from Jasper Johns and Cindy Sherman to Gerhard Richter and Ai Weiwei, contributing to debates within the art world, academic institutions like Columbia University, and cultural forums including the Venice Biennale.

Early life and education

Born in New York City, Smith grew up amid the postwar cultural transformations centered in neighborhoods associated with the Museum of Modern Art (New York), Greenwich Village, and SoHo. She attended secondary school in the city and pursued higher education at institutions connected to the New York arts ecosystem, including studies at Bryn Mawr College and graduate work that intersected with programs at Barnard College and Columbia University. During her formative years she encountered key figures from the New York art scene such as Leo Castelli, Helen Frankenthaler, and critics like Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg, whose debates about Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art shaped her sensibility. Early exposure to exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) and galleries on Madison Avenue (Manhattan) influenced her decision to pursue art history and criticism.

Career

Smith began her professional career in the 1970s writing for regional and national publications including Arts Magazine, Artforum, and The Village Voice. She joined the staff of The New York Times in the 1980s and became co-chief art critic alongside Michael Kimmelman before continuing as chief art critic. Over decades she reviewed shows at major institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), the Tate Modern, the Centre Pompidou, and the National Gallery (London). Smith also covered international events including the Documenta exhibitions in Kassel, the Venice Biennale, and the São Paulo Art Biennial. Her career includes curatorial collaborations with museums like the Whitney Museum of American Art and lecture appearances at universities including New York University and Yale University. She has mentored younger critics and contributed to panels organized by foundations such as the Guggenheim Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Writing style and critical approach

Smith's prose is characterized by concise, direct sentences and an emphasis on formal description combined with historical context. She situates artists and exhibitions in relation to precedents including Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Marina Abramović, while engaging with movements like Minimalism, Conceptual art, and Performance art. Her criticism often balances institutional critique—addressing boards, curatorial practices, and acquisition strategies at entities like the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) and the Museum of Modern Art (New York)—with close visual analysis of works by artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Mark Rothko, Donald Judd, and Kara Walker. She has been noted for refusing purely promotional language, preferring skepticism informed by research into provenance, exhibition history, and the fiscal dynamics surrounding auction houses like Sotheby's and Christie's.

Major exhibitions and reviews

Smith's reviews of canonical shows have influenced public and institutional responses to retrospectives and museum commissions. Notable subjects of her criticism include retrospectives of Jasper Johns, surveys of Abstract Expressionism at institutions like the Guggenheim Museum, and coverage of politically charged works by artists such as Ai Weiwei and Theaster Gates. She has written high-profile reviews of exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Tate Modern, and the Frick Collection, and her essays on biennials—including the Venice Biennale and Documenta—have been widely cited by curators and historians. Smith's reviews have at times sparked controversy, drawing responses from artists, galleries on Chelsea (Manhattan), and collectors active in markets centered around Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Awards and recognition

Throughout her career Smith has received honors from journalism and arts organizations. She has been cited by the Pew Charitable Trusts and acknowledged in lists compiled by institutions such as the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the College Art Association. Professional recognition includes awards for criticism from journalism societies and invitations to serve on juries for prizes like the Turner Prize selection panels and committees associated with the Pulitzer Prize arts coverage. Universities and museums have granted her fellowships and honorary degrees, reflecting her influence on contemporary museum practice and art historical discourse.

Personal life

Smith has lived and worked primarily in New York City, maintaining close ties to neighborhoods central to the art market and museum life such as Chelsea (Manhattan), Upper East Side (Manhattan), and Brooklyn. She has collaborated with colleagues at publications including The New York Review of Books and Vogue on cultural discussions, and has participated in public programs at institutions like The New School and the 92nd Street Y. Smith's personal archives, including notebooks and correspondence with figures such as Ann Temkin and Thomas Krens, have been used by researchers documenting late-20th and early-21st century art criticism.

Category:American art critics Category:Writers from New York City