Charles Baker Finch Jr. (April 22, 1953 – August 24, 2022) was an American art critic who wrote for Artnet and Coagula.
Charlie Finch | |
|---|---|
| Born | Charles Baker Finch Jr. April 22, 1953 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | August 24, 2022 (aged 69) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Art critic |
| Education | Yale University (BA) |
| Period | 1992–2012 |
| Spouse |
|
| Children | Charles |
Early life edit
Finch was born in Manhattan on April 22, 1953.[1] His father was a business executive and his mother was a buyer and homemaker.[1] He attended Phillips Academy, received a bachelor's degree in political science from Yale University in 1974, and enrolled at Union Theological Seminary, but did not graduate.[2]
Career edit
In the 1980s, Finch hosted a radio program called Artbreaking on WBAI and was a one-time culture columnist for the Paris Review online.[3] He also operated a short lived art gallery and in the East Village which he named Real Art.[4]
In 1992, Finch began writing for Coagula Art Journal, and he became known for his often vitriolic and controversial reviews.[5] He then wrote for Artnet from 1996 to 2012.[6] While his defenders praised him as passionate, his writing was also criticized as overly gossipy or cruel.[1]
Personal life and death edit
Finch was married twice, first to Mary Truitt, the daughter of sculptor Anne Truitt, and then to Marion Callis; both marriages ended in divorce, with his first marriage dissolving in 1981.[1] With Truitt, he had a son, novelist Charles Finch.[1][7]
On August 24, 2022, Finch, according to his son, either jumped or fell to his death from the window of his East Village apartment in Manhattan.[8][4] He had been ill with cancer for about a decade, and a neighbor speculated that he may have been also distressed about his finances, as he lived in his apartment under rent control, and the building had recently been sold.[1][4]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f Genzlinger, Neil (September 3, 2022). "Charlie Finch, Caustic Chronicler of New York's Art Scene, Dies at 69". The New York Times. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
- ^ "Charlie Finch, art columnist who polarized New York, dies at 68". ARTnews.com. August 25, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
- ^ "Charlie Finch". September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Charlie Finch (1954–2022)". Artforum. August 29, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
- ^ "Charlie Finch: The Insult Comic of the Art World". The New Criterion.
- ^ Robinson, Walter (August 26, 2022). "Walter Robinson Remembers Charlie Finch, the Iconoclastic Critic and 'Lifeblood' of Artnet Magazine for 15 Years". Artnet. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
- ^ Finch, Charlie. "Mother-In-Law". Retrieved September 2, 2022.
- ^ Genzlinger, Neil (September 3, 2022). "Charlie Finch, Caustic Chronicler of New York's Art Scene, Dies at 69". The New York Times.