Robert Hughes was an Australian-born acclaimed critic, writer, producer and a candid art critic. He was born in a family of lawyers and was expected to continue the legacy but he had different aspirations and joined a periodical called ‘The Observer’. Hhe initially worked as a cartoonist but soon became an art critic for the magazine. During this period he even wrote articles for various renowned magazines including the ‘Oz’ and ‘The Nation’. He worked for various popular magazines in London for a short period of time before moving to New York to work at the globally acclaimed ‘Time’ magazine. There he served as an art critic and his works were critically appreciated magnifying his reputation as a critic. He was also hired as a commentator for a news magazine program titled ‘20/20’ but was soon fired due to his outspoken nature. He was determined to establish himself in the television industry and co-produced ‘The Shock of the New’ which was an adaptation of his book with the same title. This turned out to be the most notable work of his life and made him famous globally. During this period he even wrote various successful books including ‘American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America’ and ‘The Fatal Shore’. Here is a compilation of quotations and sayings by this well-acclaimed critic which have been excerpted from his writings, books, work and thoughts. Go through the quotes and thoughts by Robert Hughes that reflect his great intellect as a writer and critic.
The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize."
[Modernism's Patriarch (Time Magazine, June 10, 1996)]
Robert Hughes
Confidence is the prize given to the mediocre
Robert Hughes
What does one prefer? An art that struggles to change the social contract, but fails? Or one that seeks to please and amuse, and succeeds?
But the existence of a cult does not mean that images appropriate to it automatically follow.
Robert Hughes
Indeed, the idea that doubt can be heroic, if it is locked into a structure as grand as that of the paintings of Cezanne's old age, is one of the keys to our century. A touchstone of modernity itself.
Robert Hughes
Machines were the ideal metaphor for the central pornographic fantasy of the nineteenth century, rape followed by gratitude.
Robert Hughes
In one sense, (Duchamp's) “The Large Glass” is a glimpse into Hell; a peculiarly modernist Hell of repetition and loneliness.
Robert Hughes
Political stress is always apt to shrink the private arena and attach it on to the public
Robert Hughes
That great condenser of moral chaos, The City.
Robert Hughes
Landscape is to American painting what sex and psychoanalysis are to the American novel.
 “The Large Glass” is a glimpse into Hell; a peculiarly modernist Hell of repetition and loneliness. ){kind=small}
