Dore Ashton (May 21, 1928 – January 30, 2017) was a writer, professor and critic on
modern
Modern may refer to:
History
* Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Phil ...
and
contemporary art
Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...
.
Biography
Ashton was born in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. She was the author or editor of more than thirty books on art, including ''
Noguchi Noguchi (野口 lit. "field entrance") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Akira Noguchi (:ja:野口明, 野口明), baseball player, older brother of Jirō Noguchi
* Akiyo Noguchi (:ja:野口啓代, 野口啓代), Jap ...
East and West'', ''About Rothko'', ''American Art Since 1945'', ''The New York School: A Cultural Reckoning'' and ''
Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
On Art''. Ashton also contributed to many publications, including
Art Digest
''Arts Magazine'' was a prominent monthly magazine devoted to fine art. It was established in 1926 and last published in 1992.
History Early years
Launched in 1926 and originally titled ''The Art Digest,'' it was printed semi-monthly from Octob ...
. and worked as an
art critic
An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...
at ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. Ashton was one of the New York art critics who championed the New York School, whose members also included
Harold Rosenberg
Harold Rosenberg (February 2, 1906 – July 11, 1978) was an American writer, educator, philosopher and art critic. He coined the term Action Painting in 1952 for what was later to be known as abstract expressionism. Rosenberg is best known for ...
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Latv ...
, ''About Rothko'', remains a source of much discussion about the artist. Ashton's last book, ''David Rankin: The New York Years'', on artist David Rankin was published in 2013.
Ashton was a professor of
art history
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
at the
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...
in New York and a senior critic in painting and printmaking at
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
. Ashton received an M.A. from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
.
Ashton died on January 30, 2017 at the age of 88 in the
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Ashton received numerous awards, including Guggenheim Foundation Fellowships in 1963 and 1969, the Frank J. Mather Award for art criticism from the
College Art Association
The College Art Association of America (CAA) is the principal organization in the United States for professionals in the visual arts, from students to art historians to emeritus faculty. Founded in 1911, it "promotes these arts and their understa ...
in 1963 and a
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...
Award in 1965.
Bibliography
*''The Unknown Shore: A View of Contemporary Art.'' Little, Brown, 1962.
*''A Reading of Modern Art''. Case Western Reserve University Press, 1970.
*''Rosa Bonheur: A Life and a Legend.'' The Viking Press, 1981.
*''Abstract Expressionist Painting in America.'' Harvard University Press, 1983.
*''Out of the Whirlwind: Three Decades of Arts Commentary.'' UMI Research Press, 1987.
*''Picasso on Art: A Selection of Views.'' Da Capo Press, 1988.
*''A Critical Study of Philip Guston.'' University of California Press, 1990.
*''A Fable of Modern Art.'' University of California Press, 1991.
*''The New York School: A Cultural Reckoning.'' University of California Press, 1992.
*''Noguchi East and West.'' University of California Press, 1993.
*''About Rothko.'' Da Capo Press, 1996.
*''The Delicate Thread: Teshigahara's Life in Art.'' Kodansha USA Press, 1997.
*''A Joseph Cornell Album.'' Da Capo Press, 2002.
*''David Rankin: The New York Years.'' Macmillan Art Publishing, 2013.