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Charlie Finch

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Charlie Finch
BornCharles Baker Finch Jr.
(1953-04-22)April 22, 1953
New York City, U.S.
DiedAugust 24, 2022(2022-08-24) (aged 69)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationArt critic
EducationYale University (BA)
Period1992–2012
Spouse
  • Mary Truitt
    (div. 1981)
  • Marion Callis
    (divorced)
ChildrenCharles

Charles Baker Finch Jr. (April 22, 1953 – August 24, 2022) was an American art critic who wrote for Artnet and Coagula.

Early life

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Finch was born in Manhattan on April 22, 1953.[1] His father was a business executive and his mother was a buyer and homemaker.[1] He attended Phillips Academy, received a bachelor's degree in political science from Yale University in 1974, and enrolled at Union Theological Seminary, but did not graduate.[2]

Career

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In the 1980s, Finch hosted a radio program called Artbreaking on WBAI and was a one-time culture columnist for the Paris Review online.[3] He also operated a short lived art gallery in the East Village which he named Real Art.[4]

In 1992, Finch began writing for Coagula Art Journal, and he became known for his often vitriolic and controversial reviews.[5] He then wrote for Artnet from 1996 to 2012.[6] While his defenders praised him as passionate, his writing was also criticized as overly gossipy or cruel.[1]

Personal life and death

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Finch was married twice, first to Mary Truitt, the daughter of sculptor Anne Truitt, and then to Marion Callis; both marriages ended in divorce, with his first marriage dissolving in 1981.[1] With Truitt, he had a son, novelist Charles Finch.[1][7]

On August 24, 2022, Finch, according to his son, either jumped or fell to his death from the window of his East Village apartment in Manhattan.[8][4] He had been ill with cancer for about a decade, and a neighbor speculated that he may have been also distressed about his finances, as he lived in his apartment under rent control, and the building had recently been sold.[1][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Genzlinger, Neil (September 3, 2022). "Charlie Finch, Caustic Chronicler of New York's Art Scene, Dies at 69". The New York Times. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  2. ^ "Charlie Finch, art columnist who polarized New York, dies at 68". ARTnews.com. August 25, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "Charlie Finch". September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Charlie Finch (1954–2022)". Artforum. August 29, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  5. ^ "Charlie Finch: The Insult Comic of the Art World". The New Criterion.
  6. ^ Robinson, Walter (August 26, 2022). "Walter Robinson Remembers Charlie Finch, the Iconoclastic Critic and 'Lifeblood' of Artnet Magazine for 15 Years". Artnet. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  7. ^ Finch, Charlie. "Mother-In-Law". Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  8. ^ Genzlinger, Neil (September 3, 2022). "Charlie Finch, Caustic Chronicler of New York's Art Scene, Dies at 69". The New York Times.
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