Richard Dorment, (born 1946) is a British art historian and exhibition organiser. He worked as chief art critic for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' from 1986 until 2015.

Early life

Dorment was born in the United States in 1946. He graduated cum laude from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1968Who's Who (2015) where he studied

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 ...

. His post-graduate work was at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

where he was a faculty fellow from 1968 until 1972. He completed his doctorate at

in 1975 with a dissertation on

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman ...

's mosaics for the

American Church in Rome St. Paul's Within the Walls ( it, San Paolo dentro le Mura), also known as the American Church in Rome, is a church of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe on Via Nazionale in Castro Pretorio, Rome. It was the first Protestant church ...

Career

Dorment worked as assistant curator in the department of European painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He then moved to London where he wrote a ''Catalogue of British Painting in the Philadelphia Museum of Art'' in 1986 and a biography of the British sculptor ''Alfred Gilbert''. He became chief art critic for ''

'' in 1986. After his retirement in 2015, he published a collection of his reviews entitled ''Exhibitionist: Writing about Art for a Daily Newspaper'' in 2016. In 1989, Dorment served on the judging panel for the

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...

. He has also been a member of the Advisory Committee of the

Government Art Collection The Government Art Collection (GAC) is the collection of artworks owned by the UK government and administered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The GAC's artworks are used to decorate major government buildings in t ...

, a member of the

Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA) is a committee of the United Kingdom government, advising the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the export of cultural property. Some of it ...

, and a member of the British Council's Advisory Committee for the Visual Arts. He was a trustee of the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along ...

and has been a trustee of the

Watts Gallery Watts Gallery – Artists' Village is an art gallery in the village of Compton, near Guildford in Surrey. It is dedicated to the work of the Victorian-era painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts. The gallery has been Grade II* listed o ...

since 1996. Dorment is a contributor for ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

'', and has also written for ''

The Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation s ...

'', ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', and ''

Literary Review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years by v ...

''. In 2009, he wrote the first of a series of articles in ''The New York Review of Books'' calling into question the methods and decisions of the Andy Warhol Foundation's Art Authentication Board. In 2011, the chairman of the Andy Warhol Foundation's board of directors announced that the Art Authentication Board would close. The following year, the Foundation announced it would be selling the Warhol works it owned.

Exhibitions

In 1994 until 1995, Dorment was a co-curator for the James McNeill Whistler exhibition at the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

. He curated the

Alfred Gilbert Sir Alfred Gilbert (12 August 18544 November 1934) was an English sculptor. He was born in London and studied sculpture under Joseph Boehm, Matthew Noble, Édouard Lantéri and Pierre-Jules Cavelier. His first work of importance was ''The Kis ...

: Sculptor and Goldsmith exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1986. He contributed to the Victorian High Renaissance exhibition catalogue in 1978.

Honours and awards

Dorment was elected a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

(FSA) in 2013. In the

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

, he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) "for services to the arts". Dorment won the Hawthornden Prize for Art Criticism in Great Britain in 1992, in 2000 he was named Critic of the Year in the

British Press Awards The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of United Kingdom, British journalism. History Established in 1962 by ''The Sunday People, The People'' and ''Campaign (magazine), World's Press ...

, and in 2014 his review of the reopening of the Rijksmuseum won the Holland Prize.

Personal life

Dorment married the novelist Harriet Waugh in 1985 and has two children from a previous marriage.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorment, Richard The Daily Telegraph people Living people British art critics Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 1946 births Princeton University alumni Columbia University alumni