John l tomkinson biography of martin

American author and art critic (born 1925)

Calvin Tomkins (born December 17, 1925) is an American author and art critic for The New Yorker magazine.

Life and career

Tomkins was born in Orange, New Jersey on December 17, 1925. After graduating from Berkshire School, he attended Princeton University and received an undergraduate degree in 1948.^[1] He then became a journalist and worked for Radio Free Europe from 1953 to 1957 and for Newsweek from 1957 to 1961.^[2]

His first published contribution to The New Yorker was a fictional piece that appeared in 1958. In 1960 he joined the magazine as a staff writer.^[2][3] His earliest writing for the magazine consisted largely of short humor pieces. His first piece of nonfiction writing for the magazine was a profile of Jean Tinguely that appeared in 1962.^[2] In the 1960s and 1970s he became a chronicler of the New York City art scene, reporting on the deve