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Roberta Smith
Roberta Smith
Roberta Smith
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Roberta Smith (born 1948) is co-chief art critic of The New York Times and a lecturer on contemporary art.[1][2] She is the first woman to hold that position at the Times.[3][4][5]

Key Information

Education and early life

[edit]

Born in 1948 in New York City and raised in Lawrence, Kansas,[6] Smith studied at Grinnell College in Iowa.[6] Her career in the arts started in 1968, while an undergraduate summer intern at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.[6]

Career

[edit]

In 1968-1969, she participated in the Art History/Museum Studies track of the Whitney Independent Study Program (ISP) where she met and developed an affinity for Donald Judd and became interested in minimal art.[7][8] After graduation, she returned to New York City in 1971 to take a secretarial job at the Museum of Modern Art, followed by part-time assistant jobs to Judd in the early 1970s, and Paula Cooper for the first three years that she had her Paula Cooper Gallery, beginning in 1972.

While at the Paula Cooper Gallery Smith wrote exhibition reviews for Artforum, and subsequently for Art in America, the Village Voice and other publications. She has written and spoken about Judd on many occasions throughout her career, and upon his death in 1995, penned his New York Times obituary.[9][10][11]

Smith began writing for The New York Times in 1986, and became the newspaper's co-chief art critic in 2011.[12][3] She has written many essays for catalogues and monographs on contemporary artists, and wrote the featured essay in the 1975 Judd catalogue raisonné published by the National Gallery of Canada. She writes not only about contemporary art but about the visual arts in general, including decorative arts, popular and outsider art, design and architecture.

Smith is a longtime advocate for museums to be free and open to the public.[13] In 2012, she received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute.[14] In 2017, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago awarded Smith her second honorary doctorate.[15]

Awards and honors

[edit]

Personal life

[edit]

Smith married Jerry Saltz, senior art critic for New York magazine, in 1992.[19] The couple live in an apartment in Greenwich Village.[19][20]

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Roberta Smith

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Roberta Smith (born 1947) is an American art critic and lecturer on contemporary art who served as co-chief art critic of The New York Times from 2011 until her retirement in March 2024. She began her tenure at the newspaper as a freelancer in 1986 and joined the staff full-time in 1991, becoming the first woman to hold the co-chief position alongside Holland Cotter. Over her 32-year staff career, Smith authored more than 4,500 reviews and essays, covering Western and non-Western art from prehistoric to contemporary eras, and profoundly influenced the canon of modern and contemporary art. Born in and raised in , Smith developed an early passion for art influenced by her mother's interests and her academic parents. She earned a B.A. from in Iowa in 1969 and participated in the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program in the late 1960s. Early professional experiences included a summer internship at the in 1968, a secretarial role at the under curators like Kynaston McShine, and work with artist and at Paula Cooper Gallery starting in 1972. Smith's writing career took off in the 1970s with contributions to and , followed by a stint as art critic for from 1981 to 1985. At , her reviews were noted for their accessibility, honesty, and advocacy for overlooked artists, , craft, and marginalized voices, including figures like and Rosie Lee Tompkins. She also held institutions accountable and promoted emerging talent, reshaping public understanding of art's diverse forms. Among her honors, Smith received the Frank Jewett Mather Award for from the College Art Association in 2003 and the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Her essays on artists such as , Richard Artschwager, and Scott Burton, as well as contributions to exhibition catalogues on , design, and architecture, further underscore her enduring impact on the field.

Early life and education

Upbringing

Roberta Smith was born in in 1947 to a family immersed in academia. Her father was completing his PhD in geography at at the time of her birth. Just five weeks later, the family relocated to , where her father had accepted a teaching position at the . Raised in this Midwestern , Smith grew up in an intellectually vibrant academic environment that emphasized scholarly pursuits and community engagement. Lawrence, home to the , provided a setting where education and cultural activities were intertwined, fostering a sense of curiosity from an early age. Her family's integration into this university-centric world highlighted the role of public institutions in making knowledge accessible beyond major urban hubs. Smith's early exposures to art were deeply influenced by her family, particularly her mother's strong visual interests in art and decor. Her parents acquired contemporary Chinese ink paintings from Chu-tsing Li, a prominent scholar at the university where her mother attended classes on painting, as well as Dutch abstract paintings. Additionally, her father's research introduced her to old maps, cultivating an initial appreciation for visual forms and representation within the home. In reflecting on this transition from New York to in interviews, Smith has noted how the move immersed her in a more egalitarian , where art and learning were not confined to spaces but were part of everyday academic life, influencing her lifelong perspective on cultural accessibility.

Academic background

Smith attended Grinnell College in Iowa, where she studied literature and art history, earning a B.A. in 1969. Her time at the liberal arts institution, located in a rural setting far from major art centers, marked an initial foray into formal studies that contrasted with her Kansas upbringing. During her undergraduate years, Smith interned at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1968, gaining hands-on experience in museum operations and exhibition practices. This internship introduced her to the professional art world, providing practical training in curatorial assistance and art handling. In the fall of 1968, during her senior year, Smith joined the inaugural cohort of the of American Art's Independent Study Program (ISP) in the /Museum Studies track, continuing through 1969. The program, which involved studio visits, seminars, and critical discussions, immersed her in New York's scene and facilitated key interactions, including with minimalist artist , whose work profoundly influenced her developing interests in . During this period, she conducted early writings, such as a paper analyzing Judd's transition from two-dimensional to three-dimensional forms between 1954 and 1964, and assisted with curatorial tasks that honed her analytical skills and marked her entry into .

Career

Early roles

Following her participation in the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program in 1968–69, Roberta Smith returned to and secured an entry-level position as a secretary in the Department of Publications at the , where she worked from 1970 to 1971. This role immersed her in the administrative side of a major institution, providing proximity to curatorial activities and the burgeoning New York art scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1972, she transitioned to the Paula Cooper Gallery, one of the pioneering spaces dedicated to and , where she assisted with gallery operations and exhibition preparations. While at the Paula Cooper Gallery, Smith launched her freelance writing career, contributing her first art reviews to publications such as and starting in 1972. Her early pieces focused on contemporary exhibitions in New York galleries, often highlighting emerging artists and the evolving Minimalist movement, including reviews of shows by Jack Sonenberg at the O.K. Harris Gallery and Peter Hutchinson at the John Gibson Gallery in September 1973 for . These writings developed her critical voice, characterized by a clear-eyed of formal innovations and contextual significance, as seen in her coverage of and site-specific works that captured the experimental energy of the downtown scene. A pivotal early contribution came through her engagement with , whom she met during her Whitney program years; Smith authored a detailed academic paper on Judd's transition from two-dimensional painting to three-dimensional sculpture between 1954 and 1964. This led to her compiling and editing selections of Judd's writings, culminating in a seminal 32-page for his 1975 at the , which traced his artistic evolution and solidified her reputation among peers in the Minimalist and postwar art communities. Through such works, Smith established herself as a discerning commentator on the New York art scene's shift toward conceptual and object-based practices.

Village Voice period

In 1981, Roberta Smith joined as its , marking the beginning of a five-year tenure that positioned her at the forefront of alternative art journalism in . This role built on her earlier freelance writing experience, allowing her to transition to a sustained platform for incisive commentary on the evolving art landscape. During this period, Smith focused on the vibrant downtown scene, chronicling the raw energy of punk aesthetics, experimental , and the proliferation of alternative galleries in neighborhoods like the East Village and SoHo. Her reviews emphasized the immediacy of these developments, often guiding readers to under-the-radar exhibitions while the works were still on view, thereby democratizing access to amid the city's cultural ferment. Smith's advocacy for underrepresented artists was particularly pronounced during the economic challenges following the 1970s recession, a time when the mainstream favored established institutions and blue-chip galleries, sidelining emerging voices. She critiqued these institutional biases in pieces that highlighted the resilience of outsider practices, such as graffiti-infused and interdisciplinary that challenged traditional hierarchies. In her 1984 article "The East Village Art Wars," Smith defended the burgeoning East Village scene against detractors like critic , who dismissed it as commercialized hype, arguing instead for its vitality as a space for diverse, non-elite artists navigating financial . This stance underscored her commitment to amplifying marginalized talents during a recovery phase marked by speculative booms and pressures. Notable among her influential writings was her early support for , whose meteoric rise she captured in the 1982 review "Mass Productions." There, Smith praised Basquiat's precocious synthesis of and high-culture references, noting how he "absorbed every trick in contemporary painting's book at an astoundingly early age," positioning him as a pivotal figure in the downtown . Her engagement with debates also surfaced through critiques that questioned rigid formalist traditions, favoring hybrid forms that incorporated , context, and social critique—reflections of the era's shift away from . These pieces, including heated exchanges in the press, fueled broader discussions on the art world's inclusivity and authenticity.

New York Times tenure

Roberta Smith began contributing freelance reviews to in 1986, following her earlier work at publications like and , where she developed a voice attuned to broader audiences. Her pieces initially focused on contemporary exhibitions in New York galleries and museums, providing incisive analyses that quickly established her as a key voice in the paper's art coverage. In 1991, she joined the Times as a full-time staff critic, allowing her to expand her scope to include international events and historical surveys, ultimately authoring over 4,500 reviews and essays during her tenure. In 2011, Smith was promoted to co-chief art critic alongside Holland Cotter, becoming the first woman to hold the position at the Times. This role amplified her influence on mainstream art discourse, as she and Cotter shared responsibilities for reviewing major exhibitions and shaping the paper's editorial stance on . Her tenure as co-chief emphasized accessible yet rigorous criticism, often highlighting underrepresented artists and institutional practices. Smith's signature contributions included advocacy for free museum admissions, notably in a 2018 co-authored with Cotter criticizing the Metropolitan Museum of Art's shift to mandatory fees for out-of-state visitors, arguing that such policies undermine public access to . She also provided extensive coverage of landmark events, such as the —reviewing editions like the 2015 show "All the World's Futures" for its environmental themes and the 2011 iteration for its subdued yet amplified global perspectives—and the Museum of Modern Art's expansions, including a 2019 assessment of the renovated institution's enhanced spatial flow and inclusivity. Over her Times career, Smith's criticism evolved from a predominantly formalist approach—emphasizing composition, materials, and technique—to broader cultural commentary that intertwined aesthetic evaluation with social and historical contexts. This shift was evident in her 2012 review of Cindy Sherman's retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, where she explored the artist's self-portraits not only as technical feats of disguise but as critiques of gender roles and media representation. Similarly, her 2014 assessment of Jeff Koons's Whitney retrospective traced the sculptor's provocative fusion of pop culture and high art, situating his balloon animals and readymades within debates on commerce, celebrity, and artistic legacy. These reviews exemplified her ability to balance close visual reading with insightful cultural analysis, influencing how readers engaged with modern art's societal dimensions.

Retirement

Roberta Smith announced her retirement as co-chief of on March 11, 2024, concluding 32 years as a full-time staff member and 38 years of total contributions to the publication, including more than 4,500 reviews and essays. In subsequent interviews, Smith cited her motivations as a wish for expanded writing freedom after decades of structured deadlines, along with an opportunity to reflect on more than 50 years in since her early contributions in the 1970s. She also described relief from the intense pressure of crafting immediate opinions on exhibitions, allowing her to engage with art more leisurely. Smith's final columns at the Times included a February 2024 review of Cycladic antiquities at the , marking the end of her regular output. A farewell published in April 2024 captured her career arc, from early enthusiasm for —exemplified by her 1970s writing on artists like —to an embrace of diverse contemporary global art forms over the decades. Following retirement, Smith indicated plans for occasional freelance contributions, such as short reviews for the Times, alongside public lectures; her first post-retirement talk occurred at Frieze New York in May 2024. In September 2025, she participated in an interview with gallerist for Numéro New York, discussing her career and perspectives on the .

Recognition

Awards

In 1975 and 1980, Roberta Smith received grants from the to support her work in , providing early financial recognition for her emerging contributions to the field. Smith was awarded the Frank Jewett Mather Award for Art Criticism by the College Art Association in 2003, honoring her excellence in critical writing and its impact on art discourse during her tenure at major publications. In 2019, she became the inaugural recipient of the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, which included a $50,000 prize—donated by Smith to the Art for Justice Fund in line with New York Times ethics guidelines—and celebrated her decades-long advocacy for accessible that broadens public appreciation of diverse mediums like self-taught, , video, and .

Honors and lectures

In 2009, Roberta Smith delivered the AICA/USA Distinguished Critic Lecture at , titled "Criticism: A Life Sentence," where she explored her approach to , its processes, and the challenges facing the field amid economic and cultural shifts. Smith received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the in 2012, recognizing her contributions to discourse during the institution's commencement ceremony. In 2014, she served as the Marina Kellen French Distinguished Visitor at the American Academy in , an honor that facilitated her engagement with international scholars and artists on topics in modern and . That same year, Smith presented the Shenkman Lecture in at the , titled "Criticism in the Expanded Field," in which she discussed her career trajectory, the responsibilities of critics, and the practical demands of daily journalism in the . In 2017, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago awarded Smith her second honorary doctorate, honoring her influential role in shaping public understanding of .

Personal life and legacy

Marriage and family

Roberta Smith married on July 25, 1992, in a private ceremony at the home of artists and in Hampton Bays, . The couple shares a life deeply intertwined with the New York art world, where they often visit galleries together or independently, averaging 25 to 30 exhibitions per week, and engage in ongoing discussions about shows that shape their respective critiques. They work in separate rooms within their home but maintain an open dynamic that fosters mutual support for each other's writing process, without pursuing joint projects. Since the 1990s, Smith and Saltz have lived in an apartment in , , which serves as their primary writing studio. The pair has no children, and further details about their family life are not publicly available, reflecting their preference for privacy amid their prominent careers.

Influence on art criticism

Roberta Smith's appointment as co-chief art critic at The New York Times in 2011 marked a significant milestone, as she became the first woman to hold that position, thereby challenging long-standing gender barriers in the male-dominated field of . This pioneering role not only elevated her voice in shaping national discourse on but also served as a model for critics in the field. Throughout her career, Smith has been a vocal advocate for free museum admissions, arguing that art institutions, akin to public libraries, should be accessible to all without financial barriers to foster broader cultural . In a 2006 New York Times essay, she critiqued rising admission fees—such as the 's 67% increase from $12 to $20—as elitist measures that undermine museums' stated goals of attracting diverse audiences, proposing instead a "free-for-all pledge" supported by donations and grants. Her 2018 co-authored piece with Holland Cotter further condemned the 's policy shift to mandatory fees for out-of-state visitors, emphasizing that such changes contradict the nonprofit ethos and limit equitable access, thereby influencing ongoing policy discussions on museum funding and inclusivity from the 1980s through the 2020s. Smith's critical perspective evolved notably from her early focus on 1970s —evident in her initial freelance writing on artists like —to a more expansive embrace of diverse global forms, as she reflected in retirement interviews. This shift, honed through decades of authoring more than 4,500 reviews and essays, allowed her to champion underrepresented voices and international practices, broadening the parameters of what constitutes significant art in mainstream criticism. In addition to her written work, Smith has mentored younger critics by emphasizing immersive approaches to art analysis, drawing from her own experiences under influences like , and through public lectures that demystify criticism for aspiring writers and educators. Her contributions to art education, including talks on the responsibilities of critics, have helped cultivate a more accessible and thoughtful generation of commentators. Upon her 2024 retirement, tributes described her as a "legendary" and "peerless" figure, underscoring her enduring legacy as a titan whose work democratized art discourse and elevated critical standards. Following retirement, she continued to engage in the field, including interviewing for Numéro in September 2025 and contributing occasional pieces.

References

  1. https://artlyst.com/people/roberta-smith-step-senior-ny-times-art-critic/
  2. https://www.americanacademy.de/person/roberta-smith/
  3. https://www.nytco.com/press/roberta-smith-is-retiring/
  4. https://www.nytimes.com/by/roberta-smith
  5. https://www.uoguelph.ca/arts/shenkman/smith2014
  6. https://brooklynrail.org/2009/04/art/in-conversation-roberta-smith-with-irving-sandler/
  7. https://engage.saic.edu/event/361695
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  9. https://www.phaidon.com/en-us/blogs/artspace/the-whitney-isp-openings
  10. https://brooklynrail.org/2017/03/art/Roberta-Smith-with-Jarrett-Earnest/
  11. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/roberta-smith/id1439567112?i=1000634320723
  12. https://www.veralistcenter.org/events/roberta-smith-criticism-a-life-sentence
  13. https://www.artforum.com/features/roberta-smith-206308/
  14. https://www.artforum.com/author/roberta-smith/page/9/?page=4
  15. https://www.printedmatter.org/catalog/13387
  16. https://escholarship.org/content/qt97g6p6kb/qt97g6p6kb_noSplash_1134cd86c551b5d429abc434ed06b6bf.pdf
  17. https://www.jstor.org/stable/778358
  18. https://www.villagevoice.com/jean-michel-basquiat-mass-productions/
  19. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/11/insider/roberta-smith.html
  20. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/03/11/roberta-smith-new-york-times-art-critic-retiring
  21. https://observer.com/2011/09/roberta-smith-and-holland-cotter-named-co-chief-art-critics-of-the-new-york-times/
  22. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/arts/design/the-met-should-be-open-to-all-the-new-pay-policy-is-a-mistake.html
  23. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/16/arts/design/review-art-for-the-planets-sake-at-the-venice-biennale.html
  24. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/arts/design/the-54th-venice-biennale-sedate-and-pumped-up-review.html
  25. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/arts/design/moma-reopening.html
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  28. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/roberta-smith-retires-new-york-times-art-critic-1234699474/
  29. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/01/arts/design/cycladic-art-stern-metropolitan-museum-greece.html
  30. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8hIwA0MMK_/
  31. https://numero.com/en/art-design/interview-larry-gagosian-roberta-smith/
  32. https://www.scad.edu/guests-and-gusto/roberta-smith
  33. https://newsroom.unl.edu/announce/artsatunl/4169/23753
  34. https://www.collegeart.org/programs/awards/mather
  35. https://www.artforum.com/news/roberta-smith-wins-50000-lifetime-achievement-award-242906/
  36. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-new-york-times-art-critic-roberta-smith-won-lifetime-achievement-award
  37. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/roberta-smith-rabkin-foundation-lifetime-achievement-award-12323/
  38. https://www.aicausa.org/distinguished-critic-lecture
  39. https://adht.parsons.edu/blog/call-response-a-reply-to-ny-times-critic-roberta-smith/
  40. https://observer.com/2012/05/roberta-smith-to-accept-honorary-doctorate-holland-cotter-at-work-on-book/
  41. https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/107772/8th-annual-shenkman-lecture-in-contemporary-art
  42. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRB0VN_FTzs
  43. https://www.saic.edu/node/15365
  44. https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/26/style/weddings-roberta-smith-jerome-d-saltz.html
  45. https://www.interviewmagazine.com/art/roberta-smith-jerry-saltz
  46. https://hyperallergic.com/877075/new-york-times-art-critic-roberta-smith-retiring-after-32-years/
  47. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/22/arts/design/22admi.html
  48. https://www.artsjournal.com/culturegrrl/2018/01/derision-for-admission-revision-parsing-the-metropolitan-museums-new-mandatory-fees.html
  49. https://americanart.si.edu/blog/eye-level/2006/13/1299/three-lectures-roberta-smith
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