Canaday, John, 1907-1985

John Canaday (1907-1985) was an art critic and author.

Art critic (New York, N.Y.).

John Canaday was an American author and educator, best known as a respected art historian. Born in Kansas and educated at the Universities of Texas and Yale, Canaday taught art history at Virginia and Tulane, and later worked for the Philadelphia Museum of Art; he was a long-time art critic for the New York Times. His writing career began in the 1940s with a series of acclaimed mystery novels, written under the pseudonym Matthew Head, before choosing to concentrate his efforts on art history. Notable accomplishments include the twelve-volume Metropolitan Seminars in Art, the four-volume Lives of the Painters, and What is Art?, a brief yet comprehensive overview. His writing style and knowledge were consistently praised, and his books were enjoyed by serious students and casual readers alike. Canaday died in 1985.

John Canaday (1907-1985) was an art critic from New York, N.Y.

American critic.

John Edwin Canaday was a writer on art history and art criticism who served as art critic for the New York Times from 1959-1977.

Born in Fort Scott, Kansas, John Edwin Canaday (1907-1985) was one of six children of Franklin and Agnes F. Canaday. At the age of seven, Canaday moved with his family to Dallas, Texas and then to San Antonio. In 1924, he enrolled at the University of Texas, where he met life-long friend Miriam Brown Keeler and received his undergraduate degree in French and English literature. After receiving his Master’s degree in art history and painting from Yale University in 1933, Canaday taught art history at several colleges and universities, including Tulane University and the University of Virginia. On September 19, 1935, he married Katherine S. Hoover, with whom he had two sons. After teaching for ten years, Canaday served as a French interpreter for the Bureau of Economic Welfare in the Belgian Congo. He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1944 and subsequently was appointed a lieutenant in the South Pacific during World War II. Following his service, Canaday was head of the art school at Newcomb College in New Orleans (1950 - 1952), and chief of the educational division at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1953 - 1959). A prolific writer, Canaday published many books on art historical topics, including The Lives of Painters (1969) and What is Art? An Introduction to Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture (1980). He also wrote several mysteries set in the Congo. From 1959 through 1976, Canaday wrote art criticism columns for the New York Times, for which he gained a great deal of notoriety and acclaim.

Source:

Curlee, Kendall. Canaday, John Edwin. Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed January 7, 2011. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcabt .

Art critic; New York, N.Y.

Died 1985.

Born in Fort Scott, Kansas, John Edwin Canaday (1907-1985) was one of six children of Franklin and Agnes F. Canaday.

At the age of seven, Canaday moved with his family to Dallas, Texas and then to San Antonio. In 1924, he enrolled at the University of Texas, where he met life-long friend Miriam Brown Keeler and received his undergraduate degree in French and English literature. After receiving his Master's degree in art history and painting from Yale University in 1933, Canaday taught art history at several colleges and universities, including Tulane University and the University of Virginia. On September 19, 1935, he married Katherine S. Hoover, with whom he had two sons. After teaching for ten years, Canaday served as a French interpreter for the Bureau of Economic Welfare in the Belgian Congo. He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1944 and subsequently was appointed a lieutenant in the South Pacific during World War II. Following his service, Canaday was head of the art school at Newcomb College in New Orleans (1950 - 1952), and chief of the educational division at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1953 - 1959). A prolific writer, Canaday published many books on art historical topics, including The Lives of Painters (1969) and What is Art? An Introduction to Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture (1980). He also wrote several mysteries set in the Congo. From 1959 through 1976, Canaday wrote art criticism columns for the New York Times, for which he gained a great deal of notoriety and acclaim.

John Canaday (1907-) was an American writer and art critic for the New York Times .

Born in Fort Scott, Kansas, on Feb. 1, 1907, Canaday received his B.A. from the University of Texas in 1929 and his M.A. from Yale in 1933. From 1938 to 1950, Mr. Canaday taught art history in the department of architecture at the University of Virginia. From 1950-1952, he served as director of the Newcomb School of Art at Tulane University. In 1953, he became Chief of the Division of Education of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a position which he held until 1959. Beginning in 1959, Canaday served as art critic for the New York Times . He wrote a series, "Metropolitan Seminars in Art," as well as Mainstreams of Modern Art, Embattled Critic, and articles for various magazines. He also published seven mystery novels under the pseudonym "Matthew Head."