Kirk Varndoe was born in the United States in 1946. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in art history in 1967 from Williams College and a doctorate from Stanford University in 1972 where he studied under Rodin scholar Albert Elsen. He then taught art history at Columbia University, Stanford University and New York University's Institute of Fine Arts.
In 1985, Varnedoe was appointed as Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). He departed from MOMA thirteen years later and became a scholar-in-residence at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies for two years until his death. Varnedoe authored notable books including High and Low: Modern Art and Popular Culture and A Fine Disregard.
Varnedoe delivered a series of three Beatty lectures in March 1988 on the theme "Fine Disregard: Inventions in Early Modern Art" including "New Space in Art: Near and Far", "New Time: Fragmentation and Repetition" and "Overview: The Flight of the Mind". Watch a video of Varnedoe delivering the first lecture, "New Space: Near and Far":
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Video: 看片视频 University Archives
