Michael Fried Reflects on Philip Leider's Legacy as Artforum Editor and Art Critic

Michael Fried, an art historian and critic, has written an obituary reflecting on his relationship with Philip Leider, the influential editor of Artforum who died at age 96. Fried first met Leider in Los Angeles in early 1967 during events surrounding a Morris Louis retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Leider later moved Artforum to New York, where it became the leading contemporary art publication under his editorship. Fried credits Leider with providing a crucial platform for his own writing, including publishing his entire PhD dissertation on Édouard Manet in a single issue. Leider's editorial vision was characterized by intellectual freedom and wide-ranging interests, supporting diverse artists from Frank Stella to Robert Smithson. He published significant essays like "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" (1970) about Michael Heizer's Earthwork in Nevada. Leider resigned from Artforum in 1971, spent time in Israel, and eventually returned to Berkeley, California. Fried describes Leider as passionate, intellectual, demanding, and generous, noting that the magazine reflected his character and made unique contributions to art criticism during the 1960s.