The Lonely Palette

TLP Interview with Sebastian Smee, Art Critic, The Washington Post


Listen Later

“In the end, what interests me is the way art connects with life. Because otherwise, I don’t quite understand what it’s for.” - Sebastian Smee

Sebastian Smee has been the art critic for the Washington Post since 2018, but has written extensively about art for every publication you can think of, from here to his native Australia, and winning a Pulitzer prize for criticism along the way. Both his prose and his love of the work leaps off the page and into your lap, offering a guiding hand past the velvet rope, not just for his readers, but for himself: he’s a critic who is constantly looking inward, curious about his own responses to artworks, and what it can teach him about teaching us.

Sebastian joined me to discuss his latest book, “Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism,” as well as writers on writing, becoming an expert about a movement on deadline, how looking back at the muddiness of a historical moment can help us understand the muddiness of ours, and what happens when art critics are themselves at a loss for the words to express why they just love this or that painting so darn much.

See the images.

Music used:

The Blue Dot Sessions, “Town Market,” “Night Light,” “Brass Buttons”

Episode sponsor:

The Art of Crime Podcast

Support the show by becoming a patron or by just sending us a tip.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Lonely PaletteBy Tamar Avishai

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

788 ratings


More shows like The Lonely Palette

View all
Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

295 Listeners

The Modern Art Notes Podcast by Tyler Green

The Modern Art Notes Podcast

478 Listeners

London Review Bookshop Podcast by London Review Bookshop

London Review Bookshop Podcast

116 Listeners

Savvy Painter Podcast with Antrese Wood by Antrese Wood

Savvy Painter Podcast with Antrese Wood

860 Listeners

Hyperallergic by Hyperallergic

Hyperallergic

143 Listeners

The Week in Art by The Art Newspaper

The Week in Art

194 Listeners

Dialogues: The David Zwirner Podcast by David Zwirner

Dialogues: The David Zwirner Podcast

387 Listeners

I Like Your Work: Conversations with Artists by Erika b Hess

I Like Your Work: Conversations with Artists

225 Listeners

Talk Art by Russell Tovey and Robert Diament

Talk Art

476 Listeners

Art Juice: A podcast for artists, creatives and art lovers by Louise Fletcher/Alice Sheridan

Art Juice: A podcast for artists, creatives and art lovers

759 Listeners

The Great Women Artists by Katy Hessel

The Great Women Artists

494 Listeners

The Art Angle by Artnet News

The Art Angle

310 Listeners

Poetry Unbound by On Being Studios

Poetry Unbound

3,529 Listeners

A brush with... by The Art Newspaper

A brush with...

137 Listeners

Art2Life by Nicholas Wilton

Art2Life

597 Listeners