Debra bricker balkan biography of christopher

“Harold Rosenberg: A Critic’s Life”
Debra Bricker Balken
University of Chicago Press, $40

A self-declared outsider, the renowned essayist and art critic Harold Rosenberg (1906-1978) rose to prominence in the 20th century to become one of the most essential voices in the discourse of American art.

In a new biography, "Harold Rosenberg: A Critic's Life," Debra Bricker Balken tells the story of Rosenberg's ascent from Brooklyn's Erasmus High School to the annals of cultural history.

Debra bricker balkan biography of christopher

Along the way she elucidates the drama of New York's political ferment beginning in the 1930s, its fractious literary community, and the emergence of modernism. The author's ability to decipher the entanglements of a cultural milieu that emerged from this intellectual hotbed is remarkable, and her historical precision alongside some 15 years of research is especially noteworthy.

Ms. Balken's writing is compelling and evenhanded, illuminating some of the last century's most c