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Robert Studley Forrest Hughes

ロバート・スタッドリー・フォレスト・ヒューズ

Robert Studley Forrest Hughes

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1938-07-28 （Sydney, Australia）
Died
2012-08-06 （New York City, U.S. (The Bronx)） age 74
Nationality
Australian
Languages
English
Residence History
Rose Bay, Sydney → Italy (periods in Italy) → London (1960s) → New York (from 1970s)

Career

Occupations
Art critic, Writer, Television documentary producer/presenter
Active Years
1958-2012
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Influenced By
Francisco Goya, Pierre Bonnard, Kenneth Clark
Influenced
Subsequent generations of art critics

Education

Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview
Country: Australia
Secondary education at a Jesuit boarding school
University of Sydney
Arts → Architecture / Arts and Architecture (left before completing degree)
Period: 1950s–1960s
Country: Australia
Studied arts and architecture; did not complete degree before pursuing criticism and journalism

Awards

Frank Jewett Mather Award (art criticism)
1982
Organization: College Art Association (CAA)
Result: 受賞
Frank Jewett Mather Award (art criticism)
1985
Organization: College Art Association (CAA)
Result: 受賞
New York Public Library Literary Lion
1987
Organization: New York Public Library
Result: 選出
W. H. Smith Literary Award
1988
Work: The Fatal Shore
Organization: W. H. Smith
Result: 受賞
Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)
1991
Organization: Government of Australia
Result: 受章
Honorary Doctor of Letters (University of Melbourne)
1995
Organization: University of Melbourne
Result: 授与
Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
1996
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Result: 選出
Living National Treasure (media vote via National Trust)
1997
Organization: National Trust of Australia (media vote)
Result: 選出
Sunday Times Writer of the Year
2000
Organization: The Sunday Times
Result: 受賞
Creu de Sant Jordi
2006
Organization: Government of Catalonia
Result: 受賞
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards (Douglas Stewart Prize)
2007
Work: Things I Didn't Know: a Memoir
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: New South Wales Government
Result: 受賞
Grierson Award (Best Documentary on the Arts)
2009
Work: The Mona Lisa Curse
Organization: Oxford Film and Television for Channel 4
Result: 受賞
International Emmy Award (Arts Programming)
2009
Work: The Mona Lisa Curse
Organization: International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Shock of the New

1980 Art history / Television documentary

A book and accompanying BBC eight-part television series tracing the development of modern art since the Impressionists, arguing how modern art moved from replication of nature to direct expression of human experience.

History of modern artRelationship between art and society
Adaptations
  • [Television series] The Shock of the New (BBC) / Lorna Pegram (1980)

The Fatal Shore

1986 History / Non-fiction

A major study of the British convict system and early European settlement of Australia; an international bestseller that reframed understanding of Australian history.

Colonial historyPenal system and its human cost

American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America

1998 Art history / Television documentary

A survey of the history of American art presented as a book and television series, examining the evolution of art in the United States.

History of American artNation and art

Goya

2004 Art history / Biography

A study of Spanish painter Francisco Goya; companion to Hughes's documentary on Goya.

Artist biographyArt, madness and politics
Adaptations
  • [Television documentary] Goya: Crazy Like a Genius (2002)

Things I Didn't Know: A Memoir

2006 Memoir / Non-fiction

A memoir recounting Hughes's life, including his near-fatal 1999 car crash, career, and personal events.

MemoirAccident and recovery

Bibliography

  • Donald Friend
  • The Art of Australia
  • Heaven and Hell in Western Art
  • The Fatal Shore
  • Lucian Freud Paintings
  • The Shock of the New
  • American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America
  • Goya
  • Things I Didn't Know: A Memoir
  • Rome: A Cultural, Visual and Personal History

Adaptations

  • The Shock of the New (BBC television series)
  • American Visions (TV series)
  • Goya: Crazy Like a Genius (documentary)
  • The Mona Lisa Curse (documentary)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Forceful and persuasive critical proseClear, provocative, literary styleAvoidance of academic jargon
Recurring Motifs
Historical contextualization of modern artInterplay of art and society/politicsTension between tradition and innovation

Health

  • Long-term alcohol misuse
    およそ50年にわたる飲酒歴が報告されている
    Reportedly exacerbated long-term illness and contributed to health decline in later life
  • Severe injuries and coma after car crash
    1999（事故）〜2000年頃（回復期）
    Near-fatal 1999 car crash left him in a coma for five weeks and required prolonged recovery

Legacy

Robert Hughes is regarded as one of the most influential art critics of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Through television and books he brought art history to a broad public and elevated criticism toward a literary form.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Quotes

  • the most famous art critic in the world
    Source: Robert Boynton (1997) (1997)
  • He made criticism look like literature
    Source: Jonathan Jones (The Guardian, 2012) (2012)

Trivia

  • His only son, Danton Hughes, committed suicide in 2001.
  • Suffered a near-fatal car crash in 1999 and was in a coma for several weeks.
  • Produced several influential books and television series introducing art history to wide audiences.
  • Appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1991.