author
Murdock Pemberton
1888–1982
A lively Broadway publicist turned critic, he became The New Yorker’s first art critic and brought a sharp eye and playful wit to the magazine’s early years. His career ranged across theater, journalism, and art writing, making him one of those hard-to-pin-down literary figures who seemed to be everywhere interesting things were happening.
1 Audiobook
The Broadway Anthology
by Edward L. Bernays, Samuel Hoffenstein, Walter J. Kingsley, Murdock Pemberton
About the author
Born in Kansas in 1888, Murdock Pemberton worked as a newspaper reporter, press agent, playwright, poet, and critic. He moved through New York’s theater world and was closely connected to the city’s literary and Broadway circles, including the famous Algonquin crowd.
He is best remembered as the first art critic for The New Yorker, beginning in the magazine’s early years in the 1920s. Although he did not come from formal art-historical training, he developed a reputation for lively, adventurous criticism and for championing modern art with humor and conviction.
Pemberton’s work also extended to the stage: he wrote and collaborated on theatrical projects, and archival collections preserve his correspondence, manuscripts, and other papers. He died in 1982, leaving behind a career that linked journalism, performance, and criticism in a distinctly New York way.