The conservative art critic Jed Perl reveals in The New Republic today that, as one might have guessed, he is not a fan of the self-styled Painter of Light, Thomas Kinkade. Mr. Perl adds that there are people that he dislikes almost as much as Mr. Kinkade: the “liberal-spirited or politically correct academics” Read More
Antoine’s Alphabet:
Watteau and His World
By Jed Perl
Alfred A. Knopf, 210 pages, $25
Where will Barnes and Noble shelve Jed Perl’s Antoine’s Alphabet? It’s an art book illustrated with gorgeous etchings based on the paintings of Antoine Watteau; it’s a short biography of the painter in the style of the Penguin Lives Read More
It had not been my intention to return to the subject of the Jean Hélion exhibition at the National Academy Museum any time soon, but after reading Roberta Smith’s lengthy and altogether malicious attack on the artist in The New York Times of Aug. 5, I believe a rebuttal is needed. Jean Hélion (1904-1987) was Read More
Reading through the selected bibliography in the catalog for Louisa Matthíasdóttir: A Retrospective, an exhibition at Scandinavia House, I’m reminded that I’ve been writing reviews of this remarkable painter’s work since 1959—nearly half a century. During this long period, other critics have also favorably reviewed her work, among them Jed Perl, John Ashbery, Harry Rand, Read More
