As Full-Time Art Critics All But Disappear, What Can We Learn From the Retiring Generation?
Catherine G Wagley | Art in America | 29th May 2026
The dismal state of art criticism. There were about 30 full time art criticism jobs in the US two decades ago. Soon there might be none. The three most influential art critics have all departed in the last few years. Their writing varied from the factual to the emotional and all had their blind spots but their departure has meant a loss of “consistent, careful looking”. No-one mentions the gloomiest scenario, that quickening social change may be loosening the community cohesion from which art often springs.