Lindsay Pollock
In what seems sure to augur a shift of emphasis at Art in America magazine, Lindsay Pollock, a cultural news reporter since 2005 for Bloomberg, today assumes the editor-in-chief spot at Art in America magazine—an appointment announced just yesterday.
Lindsay, author of a biography of dealer Edith Halpert, is an accomplished journalist, albeit in a narrow field—the art market. But notably absent from her professional accomplishments, as listed in AiA’s press release (not online at this writing), is any past history as an editor. And whereas AiA has historically focused on art history and criticism, Lindsay, who majored in art history at Barnard and (like me) got her masters at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, has written almost exclusively about economics, not aesthetics. Unmentioned in the press release is that she also has considerable personal charm and presence, and she’s a witty and savvy panel moderator.
Perhaps signaling where AiA is going, mega-collector Peter Brant, chairman of Brant Publications, which owns the magazine, praised Pollock as someone who would bring “a dynamic news sense and experience with web-based arts coverage that will enhance our publications and platforms.”
Lindsay told me:
This is a tremendously exciting opportunity to write about, think about and develop stories from different angles—something I had been hoping to do for some time. It is fascinating to write about the art world from the lens of the business of art and the art market, but that is ultimately one lens.
But what I really want to know is: Will Pollock restore to the “contributing editors” masthead some of the illustrious names (including mine) that were unceremoniously dropped by the previous editor-in-chief, Marcia Vetrocq? Marcia had been promoted from within after the resignation of veteran editor Betsy Baker (one of the finest, if exasperatingly exacting, editors I’ve ever worked with). Vetrocq lasted in the top spot for two and a half years.
When I asked Lindsay if her predecessor would remain at the magazine, she replied:
I don’t have any information about Marcia just yet.
UPDATE: András Szántó‘s very incisive appraisal for Artworld Salon of Lindsay and the future of Art in America is here.