Picasso’s Degas

by Karen Wilkin

On “Picasso looks at Degas” at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, M.A.

Discovering Degas

by James Lord

Roar of the ordinary

by Gary Saul Morson

A review of Literary Criticism from Plato to Postmodernism: The Humanistic Alternative by James Seaton

June 2019

Notes & Comments

Restoring the lost consensus

From Roger Kimball’s acceptance remarks at the Bradley Prize ceremony.

A note of thanks

Thank you for another year of loyal support.

Features

The Left against Zion

by Dominic Green

On the intellectual left and Israel.

Unpleasant Ibsen

by Brooke Allen

A review of Henrik Ibsen: The Man and the Mask, by Ivo de Figueiredo.

The denunciation machine

by J. Christian Adams

On the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Senses of the past

by Paul Dean

A review of The Nostalgic Imagination: History in English Criticism, by Stefan Collini.

Poems

The informant

by Anton Yakovlev

Barry’s house & the Burkean sublime

by George Green

Letter from London

The Brexit bust

by Simon Heffer

On Theresa May’s failures of leadership.

Dance

Passionate intensity

by Laura Jacobs

On “Natalia Osipova’s Pure Dance with David Hallberg.”

Theater

Brush up your Shakespeare

by Kyle Smith

On Kiss Me, Kate at Studio 54, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus at the Booth Theatre, and King Lear at the Cort Theatre.

Art

Spilling over at the Whitney

by Karen Wilkin

On “Spilling Over: Painting in Color in the 1960s” at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Moore & Moore

by Eric Gibson

On “Henry Moore: The Helmet Heads” at the Wallace Collection, London, and “Henry Moore Drawings: The Art of Seeing” at the Henry Moore Foundation.

Monsters & manifestos

by Andrew L. Shea

On “Monsters & Myths: Surrealism and War in the 1930s and 1940s” at the Baltimore Museum of Art and “Joan Miró: Birth of the World” at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Exhibition note

by Carolyn Stewart

On “The American Pre-Raphaelites: Radical Realists” at The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Exhibition note

by Mario Naves

On “The Self-Portrait, from Schiele to Beckmann” at The Neue Galerie, New York.

Gallery chronicle

by James Panero

On “Picasso’s Women: Fernande to Jacqueline” at Gagosian, “De Kooning: Five Decades” at Mnuchin Gallery, and “Lucian Freud: Monumental” at Acquavella Galleries.

Architecture

The past & future of Notre-Dame

by Peter Pennoyer

On the preservation and reconstruction of the cathedral of Notre-Dame.

Music

New York chronicle

by Jay Nordlinger

On Thomas Larcher and the New York Philharmonic; Michael Tilson Thomas, Yuja Wang, and the New World Symphony; and Katia and Marielle Labèque.

The media

Report from an alternative universe

by James Bowman

On partisan views of the Mueller report.

Verse chronicle

Down by the Old Mill Stream

by William Logan

On recent poetry.

Notebook

Paul Hollander, 1932–2019

by Daniel J. Mahoney

A remembrance of the Hungarian writer and frequent New Criterion contributor.

A second career in set design

by Jonathan Leaf

July 18, 2019

On Maurice Sendak at the Morgan Library & Museum

A post-Wimbledon concert

by Jay Nordlinger

July 16, 2019

Three chamber works from four players

The Critic’s Notebook

by The Editors

July 16, 2019

On summer galleries, George Marshall, gin crazes & more from the world of culture.

Five hundred years after Leonardo

by Adrienne Bernhard

July 15, 2019

Who gets to celebrate the renowned Renaissance genius?

Week in review

by Robert S. Erickson

July 12, 2019

On Frank Lloyd Wright, French polymaths, and live-streaming Rembrandt.

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Books

Hobsbawm’s sorcery

on Eric Hobsbawm: A Life in History by Richard J. Evans

reviewed by David Pryce-Jones

A good writer is hard to find

on The Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel: John Williams, Stoner, and the Writing Life by Charles J. Shields

reviewed by Hannah Niemeier

The great Bron in Soho

on A Writer in Soho: A Celebration of Auberon Waugh by

reviewed by David Platzer

The opioid crises

on Milk of Paradise: A History of Opium by Lucy Inglis

reviewed by Daniel M. Bring

Holy City revival

on Charleston Fancy: Little Houses and Big Dreams in the Holy City by Witold Rybczynski

reviewed by James Ewing

Corrupter of the youth

on Glaucon's Fate: History, Myth, and Character in Plato's Republic by Jacob Howland

reviewed by Khalil M. Habib

Bookstore

Picasso’s Degas

by Karen Wilkin

Discovering Degas

by James Lord

Roar of the ordinary

by Gary Saul Morson

June 2019

Notes & Comments

Restoring the lost consensus

A note of thanks

Features

The Left against Zion

by Dominic Green

Unpleasant Ibsen

by Brooke Allen

The denunciation machine

by J. Christian Adams

Senses of the past

by Paul Dean

Poems

The informant

by Anton Yakovlev

Barry’s house & the Burkean sublime

by George Green

Letter from London

The Brexit bust

by Simon Heffer

Dance

Passionate intensity

by Laura Jacobs

Theater

Brush up your Shakespeare

by Kyle Smith

Art

Spilling over at the Whitney

by Karen Wilkin

Moore & Moore

by Eric Gibson

Monsters & manifestos

by Andrew L. Shea

Exhibition note

by Carolyn Stewart

Exhibition note

by Mario Naves

Gallery chronicle

by James Panero

Architecture

The past & future of Notre-Dame

by Peter Pennoyer

Music

New York chronicle

by Jay Nordlinger

The media

Report from an alternative universe

by James Bowman

Verse chronicle

Down by the Old Mill Stream

by William Logan

Notebook

Paul Hollander, 1932–2019

by Daniel J. Mahoney

A second career in set design

by Jonathan Leaf

July 18, 2019

A post-Wimbledon concert

by Jay Nordlinger

July 16, 2019

The Critic’s Notebook

by The Editors

July 16, 2019

Five hundred years after Leonardo

by Adrienne Bernhard

July 15, 2019

Week in review

by Robert S. Erickson

July 12, 2019

Stay informed with our weekly email newsletter, “The Critic’s Notebook.”

Subscribe to our Critic's Notebook

A free weekly newsletter about arts & culture

Books

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Critic's Notebook

1
Discovering Degas by James Lord

2
The perversions of M. Foucault by Roger Kimball

3
Plato, true & false by Seth Benardete

4
Restoring the lost consensus

5
The denunciation machine by J. Christian Adams

6
Writing about Degas by Dan Hofstadter

7
The Left against Zion by Dominic Green

8
Virtue gone mad by Roger Kimball

9
Roar of the ordinary by Gary Saul Morson

10
Down by the Old Mill Stream by William Logan

1
The perversions of M. Foucault by Roger Kimball

2
Plato, true & false by Seth Benardete

3
Marked men, numbered days: French “collabo” writers by Jim Tuck

4
Down by the Old Mill Stream by William Logan

5
The Left against Zion by Dominic Green

6
Roar of the ordinary by Gary Saul Morson

7
The intimate abstraction of Paul Valéry by Joseph Epstein

8
Restoring the lost consensus

9
Substitutes for truth by Jenny Teichman

10
The denunciation machine by J. Christian Adams

1
The greatest of all novels by Gary Saul Morson

2
The good populism by Victor Davis Hanson

3
“Massive retaliation”: the only answer

4
Decline & fall: classics edition

5
The perversions of M. Foucault by Roger Kimball

6
Woke’s on you

7
How to read Kafka: part I by John M. Ellis

8
Restoring the lost consensus

9
The Left against Zion by Dominic Green

10
Ex libris by Paul Dean

1
The good populism by Victor Davis Hanson

2
The greatest of all novels by Gary Saul Morson

3
Solzhenitsyn’s cathedrals by Gary Saul Morson

4
The case of Stephen Greenblatt by Bruce Bawer

5
The perversions of M. Foucault by Roger Kimball

6
“Massive retaliation”: the only answer

7
“The Idiot” savant by Gary Saul Morson

8
Decline & fall: classics edition

9
Fahrenheit 451 updated

10
Woke’s on you