Andrew Hudson

Andrew Hudson July 9, 1935—January 12, 2024 Andrew Hudson, artist, teacher and critic, died in his home in Washington, DC, on January 12, 2024. He was 88 years old. Born in Birmingham, England, Hudson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Magdalen College of Oxford University. He then began his career as a painter with studies at the Slade School in London. In 1961, Hudson immigrated to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, where he continued his art studies and began to write art criticism. Hudson’s writing impressed the eminent critic Clement Greenberg, who recommended him to Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham for a position as the newspaper’s art critic. Hudson joined the Post staff in 1965. While on the paper, he was noted for his fearless critiques of both established and unknown artists. Greenberg called him “one of the best young art critics in the country.” Among his repertorial coups, Hudson was the only critic allowed to inspect the National Gallery of Art’s prize purchase, Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci, while the painting was still in its climate-controlled transition chamber before public viewing. Hudson was dismissed from the Post in 1967. He ascribed his dismissal to a mediocre review he had given to a gallery show of the work of Mary Pinchot Meyer, the late sister-in-law of Post editor Ben Bradlee. After leaving the Post, Hudson became curator of education at the Washington Gallery of Modern Art. He later joined the faculty of the Corcoran School of Art, where he taught for more than 30 years. At the Corcoran, Hudson inspired students to think beyond the usual art historical clichés, basing his teaching on experiential knowledge. During his academic career, Hudson continued to create art. His paintings were exhibited in galleries in Washington, New York, Germany, France, and Switzerland, and examples of his work figure in the collections of the National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Luther W. Brady Art Gallery at George Washington University. Hudson remained a key figure in the DC art scene and enjoyed friendships with art world figures such as Jules and Katrina Olitski, Adolph Gottlieb, and painter Blaine Larson. The grandson of two Anglican priests, Hudson converted to Roman Catholicism as a young man. He later followed a spiritual path that led him to Zen Buddhist practice. For more than 20 years, he led the Mintwood Zendo, a weekly meditation group for the LGBTQ community. He was also certified to lead workshops in the Sensory Awareness techniques developed by Charlotte Selver. Hudson was preceded in death by his parents, John C. and Audrey Hudson, and his brother Christopher Hudson. He is survived by two nephews, David and Edward Hudson, both of England.

Andrew Hudson

July 9, 1935 - January 12, 2024