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Robert Hughes Robert Hughes i(A32267 works by) (a.k.a. Robert Studley Forrest Hughes)
Born: Established: 28 Jul 1938 Sydney, New South Wales, ; Died: Ceased: 6 Aug 2012 New York (City), New York (State),
c
United States of America (USA),
c
Americas,

Gender: Male
Expatriate assertion
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Works By

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1 2 y separately published work icon The Spectacle of Skill : Selected Writings of Robert Hughes Robert Hughes , New York (City) : Knopf , 2015 9164885 2015 selected work biography autobiography essay criticism

'"I am completely an elitist, in the cultural but emphatically not the social sense. I prefer the good to the bad, the articulate to the mumbling, the aesthetically developed to the merely primitive, and full to partial consciousness. I love the spectacle of skill, whether it's an expert gardener at work, or a good carpenter chopping dovetails . . . I don't think stupid or ill-read people are as good to be with as wise and fully literate ones. I would rather watch a great tennis player than a mediocre one . . . Consequently, most of the human race doesn't matter much to me, outside the normal and necessary frame of courtesy and the obligation to respect human rights. I see no reason to squirm around apologizing for this. I am, after all, a cultural critic, and my main job is to distinguish the good from the second-rate."

'Robert Hughes wrote with brutal honesty about art, architecture, culture, religion, and himself. He translated his passions–of which there were many, both positive and negative–brilliantly, convincingly, and with vitality and immediacy, always holding himself to the same rigorous standards of skill, authenticity, and significance that he did his subjects. There never was, and never will be again, a voice like this. In this volume, that voice rings clear through a gathering of some of his most unforgettable writings, culled from nine of his most widely read and important books. This selection shows his enormous range and gives us a uniquely cohesive view of both the critic and the man.

'Most revealing, and most thrilling for Hughes's legions of fans, are the never-before-published pages from his unfinished second volume of memoirs. These last writings show Robert Hughes at the height of his powers and can be read only with pleasure and a tinge of sadness that his extraordinary voice is no longer here to educate us as well as to clarify and define our world.' (Publication summary)

1 From : Culture of Complaint Robert Hughes , 2009 extract prose
— Appears in: Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature 2009; (p. 928-930)
1 A Bloody Expat Robert Hughes , 2008 single work autobiography
— Appears in: The Penguin Book of the Road 2008; (p. 1-15)
Hughes passes in and out of consciousness on a highway in the remote Kimberley, the wreck of his car folded around him.
1 The God of Realism Robert Hughes , 2006 single work essay
— Appears in: The Guardian , 11 February 2006; The New York Review of Books , 6 April vol. 53 no. 6 2006; The Best Australian Essays 2006 2006; (p. 226-237)
1 25 y separately published work icon Things I Didn't Know : A Memoir Robert Hughes , Milsons Point : Knopf , 2006 Z1301398 2006 single work autobiography
1 Man of Steel Robert Hughes , 2005 single work essay
— Appears in: The Best Australian Essays 2005 2005; (p. 107-111)
An essay on the American sculptor Richard Serra
1 1 y separately published work icon The Ballad of Alan Bond (with Homages to Oscar Wilde) i "In West Australia's sunniest jail", Robert Hughes , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2000 Z310059 2000 single work poetry satire
5 y separately published work icon A Jerk on One End : Reflections of a Mediocre Fisherman Robert Hughes , New York (City) : Ballantine Books , 1999 Z1100115 1999 single work autobiography From book jacket 'Hughes traces his love of fishing back to his earliest boyhood on Sydney Harbor, Australia, and recounts the high and low points of his career with rod and reel - the first surge of triumph when he snagged a six-pound bonito, the shame of having his father catch him trout-fishing with live bait (the most perfidious failing in the eyes of every fly fisher), hair-raising shark tales he picked up on the Sydney waterfront'
1 The Poet Who Never Was Robert Hughes , 1993 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Australian Magazine , 28-29 August 1993; (p. 26-27)
1 Alan Moorehead's Tragedy Robert Hughes , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: The Independent Monthly , May vol. 1 no. 10 1990; (p. 32)

— Review of Alan Moorehead Tom Pocock , 1990 single work biography
10 19 y separately published work icon The Fatal Shore : A History of the Transportation of Convicts to Australia, 1787-1868 Robert Hughes , London : Collins Harvill , 1987 Z1065904 1987 single work non-fiction 'Traces the fate of the 160,000 men, women and children transported between the dispatch of the First Fleet in May 1787 to Botany Bay, and the arrival of the latest convict ship in 1868 in Western Australia.' (Source: Trove)
1 y separately published work icon Donald Friend Robert Hughes , Sydney : Edwards and Shaw , 1965 Z976110 1965 single work biography
1 Artists and Critics in Australia Robert Hughes , 1962 single work criticism
— Appears in: Prospect , vol. 5 no. 4 1962; (p. 6-8)
1 The Prime Minister to Two Senators i "Observe, I wear a smile for you,", Robert Hughes , 1962 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 10 February vol. 83 no. 4278 1962; (p. 27)
1 A Trustee of a State Art Gallery to Australian Artists i "Some say my mind has run to fat", Robert Hughes , 1962 single work poetry satire
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 10 February vol. 83 no. 4278 1962; (p. 27)
1 Neil Hutchison to Patrick White i "We love you, Patrick, at arm's length:", Robert Hughes , 1962 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 10 February vol. 83 no. 4278 1962; (p. 27)
1 "Hollywood George" Edser to the AJC i "I love my brothers of the turf", Robert Hughes , 1962 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 10 February vol. 83 no. 4278 1962; (p. 26)
1 Mr Calwell to Doctor Soekarno i "If I were Prime Minister", Robert Hughes , 1962 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 10 February vol. 83 no. 4278 1962; (p. 26)
1 The Shareholders in Stanhill Investments Limited to Mr Korman i "Our love is fickle as the day", Robert Hughes , 1962 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 10 February vol. 83 no. 4278 1962; (p. 26)
1 Voss in Paint Robert Hughes , 1961 single work criticism
— Appears in: Nation , 25 February 1961; (p. 24)
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