Manny Farber

Manny Farber (born Emanuel Farber; Douglas, Arizona, 1917 – Leucadia, California, 2008) was an American painter, film critic and writer. His punchy, inventive prose gave him a large influence on later generations of film critics. He is best known for his writing, but his painting, especially still lifes, was highly regarded; The New York Times called him the greatest still life painter of his generation.

The youngest of three brothers in a family of Lithuanian origin, he grew up in California and studied at Berkeley and Stanford, then at art schools in San Francisco. In the early 1930s he worked as a painter and carpenter. In 1942 he moved to New York to write about film and art for magazines such as The New Republic, Time, The Nation and Artforum. In 1970 he settled in San Diego to teach at the University of California, where his unconventional film history courses became well known.

His essay "White Elephant Art vs. Termite Art" championed the B film and underappreciated directors over pretentious, formal art. Towards the end of his life he painted less and focused on collage and drawing. His legacy lies in film criticism that revived directors such as Howard Hawks and Anthony Mann, and in his distinctive blend of painting and writing.