Oh, no! Peter Schjeldahl, art writer and critic for the New Yorker, has died of lung cancer.

[CTyankee]

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/postscript/10/31/remembering-peter-schjeldahl-a-consummate-critic?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Daily_102222&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&utm_term=tny_daily_digest&bxid=5fd0133b9c3b0647ce61e69a&cndid=63097813&hasha=292bf91b51015a06ee4a51085641bc34&hashb=d6ba9d8bb7c411bfaca1c904d5fe7907b0389fa4&hashc=70554cc2c64ec9e4a810a8e5ebce52aa5fa2ed4abc73f207f6b8ec9faa650198&esrc=Auto_Subs&mbid=CRMNYR062419

I knew he was sick but hoped he would stay around longer.

I've read all of his books, always enjoyed his long pieces in the New Yorker, and his occasional interview on TV.

As an art historian, I always wished I had his ascertaining eye. His taste in art was flawless. He was one of my "go to" people in art history I would always consult.

He wasn't stuck in lots of art chatter. He was a midwesterner. He attended, but never graduated, from college.

He was just so damn good.

[nolabear]

1. I'm so sorry. I have huge respect for art historians.

My late mother in law had a ridiculous eye and acquired some wonderful pieces. And my son and I toured Italy years ago with an art historian. It was wonderful.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. Alas, smoking leads to lung cancer.

Who would ever have thought?

And no, I'm not going to apologize. It is hardly breaking news. In 1957 Surgeon General Leroy E. Burney declared it the official position of the U.S. Public Health Service that the evidence pointed to a causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer. And in 1964 it was made official. I suppose it's nice that Schjeldahl apparently felt that all those cigarettes were worth it.

[CTyankee]

3. Please have a little respect for the imperfection of humans. He had two addictions: alcohol and

tobacco, both strongly addictive. I lost a beloved sister in law to alcohol and all the love in the world could not save her. She had a beautiful soul.

I would like to believe that this is where Peter is now