"Calvin Tomkins penned elegant, refined, and iconic profiles of artists like Marcel Duchamp, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jean Tinguely. His crystalline prose shook off art jargon, cutting cleanly to the core of each subject he took on."
"In his final year, at age 99, he began keeping a journal. 'It recently became clear that interviewing dozens of people, gathering mountains of material, and keeping it all in my head has become increasingly difficult, what with my porous memory and failing eyesight,' he wrote."
Calvin Tomkins, a celebrated art writer for over 60 years at the New Yorker, passed away at age 99. He was known for his elegant profiles of artists like Marcel Duchamp and Robert Rauschenberg, avoiding art jargon to focus on the essence of his subjects. His notable works include Living Well Is the Best Revenge and The Lives of Artists. In his final year, he began journaling due to memory and eyesight challenges, reflecting on his life and contributions to the art world alongside his wife, Leslie Bucher.
Read at Hyperallergic
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