Milton Esterow

Milton Esterow (born July 28, 1928) is an American art journalist and publisher. He has written for The New York Times and co-owned the magazine ARTnews.

Milton Esterow
Born (1928-07-28) July 28, 1928
New York City, U.S.
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • editor
  • publisher
SubjectArt
Years active1948–present
SpouseJackie Esterow[1]

Background

Growing up in Brooklyn, he attended Brooklyn College and started writing for the New York Times while still a student. He joined the newspaper in 1945 as a copy boy and began reporting in 1948.[1] He was a prolific journalist at the paper, devoted mainly to the drama department and film reviews.[2]

In the early 1960s, Esterow discovered a niche in the area of cultural news, bringing an investigative style to a part of newspaper journalism that had previously been devoted to reviews of exhibits and biographical profiles of important personalities.[3] He became known for his reporting on artwork looted by Nazis.[1] His 1966 book The Art Stealers: A History of Certain Fabulous Art Thefts was an important milestone in his professional development.[4] In a review, Stuart Fleming called it "absorbing" and "excellently researched".[5] He left the Times in 1972 when he purchased ArtNEWS, though he returned after he sold the magazine in 2014. He continues to contribute to the paper as of 2023, writing on a Royal typewriter.[1]

As of 2023, Esterow lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.[1]

ARTnews

Milton and Judith Esterow owned America's oldest continually published art magazine ARTnews from 1972 to 2014. While the monthly was devoted to the American art scene in general, Milton Esterow invented a new style of investigative journalism in the art world and doubled the magazine's circulation. He is considered to be an innovator in this field, especially as regards art theft and the restitution of works taken illegally during World War II.

Esterow worked as a writer, publisher, and editor-in-chief of the periodical, where his goal was to make it the world's largest circulated arts magazine. He sought to make the magazine's coverage accessible to a general audience. Scholarly articles with footnotes, common in the magazine before 1972, ceased to appear, while Esterow gave more coverage to personalities and the developments of the art market.[2] He also published full-length art books "that tell the reader in language he or she can understand what the artist is all about and get away from the gobbledegook."[2]

Esterow hobnobbed with famous figures in the art world, including Henry Moore, Robert Rauschenberg, and Ansel Adams. Famous ARTnews covers have featured Jasper Johns and Pablo Picasso.[6]

The annual feature listing the "world's top 200 art collectors" was accepted by many in the art world as a prestigious ranking. Others criticized the magazine's method of polling in order to determine "Ten Best Living Artists".[7]

Awards

Book Collection

Esterow donated his collection of art books to Brooklyn College Library.[10]

References
  1. Linder, Emmett (May 14, 2023). "At 94, a Lifetime of Stories, and Still More to Tell". The New York Times. p. A2. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  2. Esterow, Milton; Baxter, Paula A. (1984). "Viewpoint: What It Takes to Make a Successful Art Periodical: Talking to Milton Esterow, Publisher and Editor of "ARTnews"". Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America. 3 (3): 83–84. doi:10.1086/adx.3.3.27947312. JSTOR 27947312. S2CID 193324372.
  3. Esterow, Milton (November 9, 1963). "F.B.I. Intensifying Efforts to Apprehend Art Thieves; Hundreds of Works Worth in Millions Stolen Since 1960 Special Investigator Helps Track Down Missing Paintings". The New York Times.
  4. Freemon-Smith, Eliot (July 13, 1966). "Books of The Times: Annals of (Art) Crime". The New York Times. p. 39.
  5. Fleming, Stuart (November 27, 1975). "Book review". The New Scientist. p. 535. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021.
  6. Power, Scott (November 12, 2019). "Legendary Art Journalist Milton Esterow: A Life Dedicated to ARTnews". Not Real Art. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  7. "Milton Esterow. ARTnews at 100". Vera List Center. 2002. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021.
  8. "Artlaw Brochure" (PDF). ART LITIGATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION INSTITUTE. October 10, 2008.
  9. "Arnheim, Esterow Receive Special Lifetime Achievement Awards". ARTnews. 102 (4): 44. April 2003.
  10. "Milton Esterow, editor of ARTnews, Donates His Collection of Art Books to Brooklyn College Library".
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