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Mario Amaya

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Mario Maya.
Mario Amaya
Amaya in 1968
BornOctober 6, 1933
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died (aged 52)
London, England
OccupationsAmerican art critic, museum director, magazine editor
Known for

Mario Amaya (October 6, 1933 – June 29, 1986) was an American art critic, magazine editor, and museum director. He played a significant role in shaping contemporary art discourse in the United States and Europe. Known for his energetic and eclectic approach, he led major institutions including the New York Cultural Center and the Chrysler Museum of Art, and authored influential early studies of Pop art and decorative arts. He was also the chief curator of the Art Gallery of Ontario and the founding editor of London's Art and Artists magazine.

Biography

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Amaya walks to the ambulance with a back wound after the shooting at Warhol's studio on June 3, 1968.

Mario Amaya was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Cuban immigrants Mario Amaya and Maria Garofalo.[1][2] He studied under painters Mark Rothko and Ad Reinhardt at Brooklyn College before relocating to England in 1958, where he became assistant editor of the Royal Opera House magazine About the House (1962–1968) and founding editor of Art and Artists (1965–1968).[3][4] In 1968, he organized The Obsessive Image, inaugurating the Institute of Contemporary Arts' new premises in London.[1]

Amaya established himself as a leading voice in postwar art criticism with publications such as Pop as Art (1965), Art Nouveau (1966), and Tiffany Glass (1967), each contributing to a broader reassessment of modern and decorative arts.[5]

In June 1968, he was present at Pop artist Andy Warhol's studio, the Factory, when Warhol was critically wounded in a shooting by Valerie Solanas; Amaya himself sustained a minor injury.[6][7] Amaya, then a journalist, was visiting New York from his base in London and was waiting to interview Warhol.[8] He later wrote, "It was like a Magritte painting for me, with everything so real and yet so totally unreal at the same time."[2]

He went on to a prominent museum career, serving as chief curator of the Art Gallery of Ontario (1969–1972), where he organized major exhibitions, including the first North American survey of late 19th-century Symbolist art and a retrospective of painter Édouard Vuillard. As director of the New York Cultural Center (1972–1976), he helped "strengthen the Cultural Center's position as one of the liveliest of New York's museums" at the time.[9][4] He transformed the institution into a multidisciplinary venue, presenting exhibitions such as Realism Now (1972), Blacks: U.S.A. (1973), Women Choose Women (1973),[10] Bouguereau (organized with Robert Isaacson, 1975), a retrospective of visual artist Man Ray (1975), and a survey of theater director Max Reinhardt.[11][1] He later served as director of the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia (1976–1979).[12]

Amaya also contributed to art magazines such as Studio International and Art in America,[8][13][14] and served as a visiting professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo.[15] At one point, Amaya was engaged in research for a proposed biography of photojournalist Lee Miller (with which she co-operated), but the project did not materialize. He interviewed Miller for the May/June 1975 issue of Art in America.[16][17] He interviewed art collector Peggy Guggenheim for the December 1979 issue of Warhol's Interview magazine.[18]

Amaya was noted for his charisma, curatorial ambition, and ability to engage broad audiences with contemporary art.[11] He was a close friend of chemist and art collector Stuart Pivar, who credited Amaya with teaching him everything about art.[7]

Amaya died from AIDS-related cancer at Charing Cross Hospital in London on June 29, 1986.[8][7][19][1] He was survived by his mother, who lived in Brooklyn.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Russell, John (1986-06-30). "MARIO AMAYA, 52, ART CRITIC, EDITOR AND MUSEUM DIRECTOR". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  2. ^ a b Fulford, Robert (1986-10-11). "An old-fashioned dandy who left a mark". The Toronto Star. pp. M5. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  3. ^ Stiles, Kristine Elaine Dolan (1987). The Destruction in Art Symposium (DIAS): The Radical Cultural Project of Event-structured Live Art. University of California, Berkeley. p. 261.
  4. ^ a b "AMAYA NAMED HEAD OF CULTURAL CENTER". The New York Times. 1972-02-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  5. ^ "MARIO AMAYA, 52, art critic, museum director,…". Orlando Sentinel. 1986-06-30. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  6. ^ Shepard, Richard F. (1968-06-05). "WARHOL ACTRESS TO UNDERGO TESTS; Woman Who Says She Shot Artist Is Denied Bail". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  7. ^ a b c Warhol, Andy; Hackett, Pat (1989). The Andy Warhol Diaries. The Archive of Contemporary Music. New York, NY : Warner Books. ISBN 978-0-446-51426-2Entry date: June 29, 1986{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  8. ^ a b c "Warhol: A celebration of life ... and death". Studio International. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  9. ^ Bourdon, David (September–October 1965). "New York Museum Crisis: Two Bite Dust". Art in America. 63 (5): 37–39.
  10. ^ Mellow, James R. (1973-01-14). "Art: Focusing on Works by Women". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  11. ^ a b Russell, John (September 1986). "Mario Amaya, 1933–1986". Art in America. 74 (9): 174.
  12. ^ "Art People". The New York Times. 1976-08-20. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  13. ^ "Studio International – July-August 1967". www.studiointernational.com. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  14. ^ Amaya, Mario (September 1979). "Victorian in Brooklyn". Art in America. 67 (5): 126–131.
  15. ^ "Mario Amaya, Visiting Professor, Art, 8/31/1972". University at Buffalo.
  16. ^ Amaya, Mario (May–June 1975). "My Man Ray: An Interview with Lee Miller Penrose". Art in America. 63 (3): 54–60.
  17. ^ Prose, Francine (2003-09-19). "Miller's crossing". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  18. ^ Amaya, Mario (2011-10-19). "Peggy Guggenheim". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  19. ^ "AIDS: In Memoriam". Vanity Fair. Vol. 50, no. 3. March 1987. p. 94.
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