David Bourdon

David Bourdon (October 15, 1934 – March 27, 1998) was an American art critic, editor, and author. Bourdon was a pioneering writer on the Minimalist movement and was deeply active in the avant-garde New York art scene of the 1960s. He also wrote about the Earth Art movement in the late 1960s and 1970s and contributed to several magazines, including Life, Artforum International, Art in America, Arts Magazine, Time, and Vogue. Among his books were studies of the artists Christo, Alexander Calder, Niki de Saint-Phalle, and Andy Warhol. He was also the former president of the United States section of the International Association of Art Critics.

Biography Bourdon was born in Los Angeles, California, on October 15, 1934. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia University in 1961.

His last book, Designing the Earth (1995), explored how humans have shaped their surroundings using stone and earth. He had gotten active with groups like the World Wildlife Fund and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in his later years. He was survived by his parents, David and Marilyn Bourdon; a brother, Gary Bourdon, and two sisters, Beverley Post and Diane Bourdon. A memorial service was held at St. Francis Xavier Church in Manhattan on April 30, 1998.

Painter Sylvia Sleigh's 1969 portrait of Bourdon was gifted to the Museum of Modern Art from her estate.