Robert Hughes Art critic and writer originally from Australia Date of Birth: 28.07.1938 Country: Australia

Biography of Robert Studley Forrest Hughes

Robert Studley Forrest Hughes was born on July 28, 1938, in Sydney, Australia. His father, Geoffrey Forrest Hughes, served as a pilot during World War II and later had a successful career as a lawyer and company director. Unfortunately, Geoffrey passed away from lung cancer when Robert was just 12 years old. Robert's older brother, Thomas Eyre Forrest Hughes, became a prominent Australian lawyer and former Attorney-General of Australia.

Robert studied at St Ignatius' College, Riverview before pursuing art and architecture at the University of Sydney. During his time at university, he became associated with a group of artists, writers, intellectuals, and lovers of alcohol who were part of the Sydney subculture. This group included Germaine Greer and Clive James.

However, Robert left university to become an art critic and cartoonist for the Sydney periodical 'The Observer,' which was edited by Donald Horne. Around the same time, he wrote a significant work on Australian art titled 'The Art of Australia,' which was published in 1966. Robert also briefly contributed to the original magazine 'Oz' and wrote critical articles for 'The Nation' and 'The Sunday Mirror.' In 1964, he left Australia and spent some time in Italy before settling in London in 1965. He then began writing for various publications such as 'The Spectator,' 'The Daily Telegraph,' 'The Times,' and 'The Observer.'

In 1970, Robert became an art critic for the magazine 'TIME' and moved to New York. He quickly established himself as an influential art critic in the United States. In 1975, he and Don Brady narrated the documentary film 'Protected,' which explored the lives of indigenous Australians on Palm Island.

In 1978, Robert and Harold Hayes were selected as the hosts of the television newsmagazine '20/20' on ABC News. However, their only broadcast on June 6, 1978, was a failure, leading to their replacement by television veteran Hugh Downs less than a week later.

Robert was married for the first time in 1967 to Danne Patricia Emerson, but they divorced in 1981. Danne passed away from a brain tumor in 2003. They had one child named Danton, who tragically died by suicide in 2002 at the age of 34. Robert remarried in 1981 to Victoria Whistler and remained married to her until 1996. In 2001, he married American artist and former art director Doris Downes, who is 21 years his junior. He has been raising Doris's two children from a previous marriage, Freeborn Jewett IV and Fielder Jewett.

Robert is known for his criticism of artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel, stating that Schnabel's paintings are akin to Sylvester Stallone's muscles, except Schnabel achieved more recognition. In response, Schnabel called Hughes a "butthead" during an episode of '60 Minutes.'

Robert Studley Forrest Hughes passed away on August 6, 2012, after a prolonged illness.