Critic as Advocate: Selected Essays 1940-1988

by Bernard Smith

Bernard Smith's published writings on art extend over fifty years. In this selection of critical essays, arranged chronologically, he shows how--from the study of original works he admired--he developed a pluralist critical practice based on form and meaning. Discussing every important artist from the period, the writings reveal how Smith related his criticism to particular ethical, social, and political concerns that affected both artist and layperson.

400 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 1990

About the author

Bernard Smith (1916–2011) was arguably Australia’s greatest art historian and one of the most important humanist thinkers internationally on ideas concerning cultural contact.