Alumni Award

A picture is worth a thousand words—but sometimes it takes a thousand words to see that picture clearly. Through her incisive, passionate art criticism, Roberta P. Smith ’69 has helped open up the world of contemporary art to a wide audience.

After graduating with a degree in art, Smith headed to New York to work as a secretary at the Museum of Modern Art. She first got interested in art criticism after writing what she describes as "a long, contentious, probably incoherent" letter to Artforum. Though the letter was trimmed by half before being published, two people who had read the letter in its entirety suggested that this alumna try her hand at criticism.

By 1971, she was contributing reviews to Artforum regularly. She went on to become an art critic and senior editor at Art in America and later became a senior critic at the Village Voice. Since 1986, she has been an art critic for the New York Times. Her stories have tackled difficult—and taboo—topics ranging from whether or not some contemporary work is truly art to how to rescue museums facing fiscal crises.

In 2003, she received the prestigious Frank Jewett Mather Award for Art Criticism from the College Art Association.

For writing thoughtful, engaging prose that sheds light on even the most challenging contemporary art, Grinnell is proud to recognize Roberta P. Smith ’69.