'Bernard Smith began life as a ward of the State; he would go on to become the father of Australian art history. In 2008 Smith invited writer and art historian Dr Sheridan Palmer to write his biography. Through years of interviews and exclusive access to Smith’s papers and library, Palmer reveals the unique character of an exceptional man.' (Publication summary)
'I have long loved the writing of Bernard Smith for his passionate and rigorous application of Marxist theory to a reading of art history and to the story of European colonialism in the South Pacific. For such landmark endeavours, Bernard Smith will always be remembered as a most significant public intellectual. And Sheridan Palmer’s new biography, Hegel’s Owl, is an elegant and powerful tribute to this aspect of Smith’s life. In describing the formation and expression of Smith’s ideas, Palmer makes a remarkable contribution to Australian intellectual history.' (Introduction)
'I have long loved the writing of Bernard Smith for his passionate and rigorous application of Marxist theory to a reading of art history and to the story of European colonialism in the South Pacific. For such landmark endeavours, Bernard Smith will always be remembered as a most significant public intellectual. And Sheridan Palmer’s new biography, Hegel’s Owl, is an elegant and powerful tribute to this aspect of Smith’s life. In describing the formation and expression of Smith’s ideas, Palmer makes a remarkable contribution to Australian intellectual history.' (Introduction)
