John Edwin Canaday (February 1, 1907 – July 19, 1985) was a leading American art critic, author and

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

Early life and education

John Canaday was born in

Fort Scott, Kansas Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, Bourbon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,552. It is named for Gen. Winfield Scott. The cit ...

, to Franklin and Agnes F. (Musson) Canaday. His family moved to

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

when Canaday was seven and later moved to

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, where he attended Main Avenue High School. Canaday entered the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

in 1924 and earned a B.A. degree in French and English literature in 1929. He subsequently studied painting and art history at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he received an M.A. in 1933. He taught at

Washburn University Washburn University (WU), formally Washburn University of Topeka, is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs as well as professional programs in law and business. The university enroll ...

Topeka Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...

in 1933–34; at

Newcomb College H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University, located in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daughter. Newcomb was the ...

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

(1934–36); Hollins College,

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

(1936–38); and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...

(1938–50). In 1943, he traveled to the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

and acted as a French interpreter for the Bureau of Economic Welfare. The following year he joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. He served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in an air-warning squadron in the Pacific until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, after which he returned to the

. From 1950 to 1952, Canaday headed the art school at

. He worked as chief of the educational division at the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

from 1953 to 1959. During this period he wrote the text for Metropolitan Seminars in Art, a widely distributed series of 24 portfolios published between 1958 and 1960 by the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Newspaper career

In 1959, Canaday began a 17-year career as a leading

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 ...

for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. In his first column on September 6, 1959, he inflamed the art establishment by proclaiming that

Abstract Expressionism Abstract expressionism in the United States emerged as a distinct art movement in the aftermath of World War II and gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s, a shift from the American social realism of the 1930s influenced by the Great Depressi ...

, the dominant style of the period, allowed "exceptional tolerance for incompetence and deception." Although he acknowledged the talent of the best Abstract Expressionists, he noted that "we have been had" by the "freaks, the charlatans, and the misled who surround this handful of serious and talented artists." Canaday's inaugural column and subsequent articles criticizing this style provoked a much-publicized letter to ''The New York Times'' signed by 49 of the nation's leading art figures, who denounced Canaday as an agitator. "I have trouble vis-à-vis Canaday," one artist wrote. "What he thinks of me, he can print, while what I think of him is unprintable." Other artists and critics, however, championed him as an honest and articulate observer of the art scene, which continued to provide ample targets for his barbed wit over the years.

Author

In addition to writing for the ''Times'', Canaday published a number of influential books, notably '' Mainstreams of Modern Art: David to Picasso'' (1959), winner of the Athenaeum Literary Award and a popular art history textbook for many years. His experiences as a critic provided the subject matter of two books, ''Embattled Critic: Views on Modern Art'' (1962) and ''Culture Gulch: Notes on Art and Its Public'' in the 1960s (1969). He also wrote ''Keys to Art'', with Katherine H. Canaday (1963), ''The Lives of the Painters'' (1969), ''Baroque Painters'' (1972), ''Late Gothic to Renaissance Painters'' (1972), ''Neoclassic to Post-Impressionist Painters'' (1972), ''My Best Girls: 8 Drawings'' (1972), ''The New York Guide to Dining Out in New York'' (1972), ''The Artful Avocado'' (1973), ''Richard Estes: The Urban Landscape'' (1979), ''What is Art? An Introduction to Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture'' (1980), and ''Ben Shahn, Voices and Visions'' (1981). In the 1940s and 1950s, under the pen name Matthew Head, Canaday wrote seven crime novels: ''The Smell of Money'' (1943), ''The Devil in the Bush'' (1945), ''The Accomplice'' (1949), ''The Cabinda Affair'' (1949), ''The Congo Venus'' (1950), ''Another Man's Life'' (1953), and ''Murder at the Flea Club'' (1955), each originally published by Simon & Schuster of New York. Drawing in part on his experiences in the Congo, he set three of his mysteries in Africa, and they were heralded by one critic as subtly foreshadowing a time of change on the African continent. In 1974, Canaday stepped down from his post as art critic in order to devote more time to writing books, although he continued to write restaurant reviews for the ''Times'' until his retirement in 1977. Canaday taught several courses as a guest lecturer at the

in the spring of 1977. He continued to lecture and to write for such publications as '' Smithsonian'' magazine, ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'', and ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

'' until his death.

Personal life and death

Canaday married Katherine S. Hoover on September 19, 1935, and they had two sons. He died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

in New York City on July 19, 1985.

In popular culture

In the 2014 film '' Big Eyes'', directed by

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

, Canaday is portrayed by actor

Terence Stamp Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Known for his sophisticated villain roles, he was named by ''Empire (magazine), Empire'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades in ...

, making derogatory comments on the paintings of Margaret Keane.

Notes

*''The New York Times'', July 21, 1985. *''The New Yorker'', January 4, 1964. *''Who's Who in America'', 1984–85.

References

External links

John Canaday Papers
at Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Canaday, John 1907 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American academics 20th-century American historians 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists American art critics American art historians American crime fiction writers American expatriates in the Belgian Congo American male journalists American magazine journalists American male novelists American newspaper journalists American restaurant critics Crime novelists The New York Times journalists Deaths from pancreatic cancer in New York (state) Historians from Kansas Historians from Louisiana Historians from Texas Hollins University faculty Journalists from Dallas Journalists from Kansas Journalists from Louisiana Journalists from San Antonio Journalists from Virginia Military personnel from Dallas Military personnel from Kansas Military personnel from Louisiana Military personnel from San Antonio Military personnel from Virginia Novelists from Kansas Novelists from Louisiana Novelists from Texas Novelists from Virginia People associated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art People associated with the Philadelphia Museum of Art People from Fort Scott, Kansas Tulane University faculty United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II University of Texas at Austin alumni University of Texas at Austin faculty University of Virginia faculty Washburn University faculty Writers from Charlottesville, Virginia Writers from New Orleans Yale University alumni