Farago studied and gained degrees in
art history at
Yale University in
New Haven, Connecticut, and the
Courtauld Institute in
London before becoming an international art and culture critic. In 2021 he stirred up controversy by suggesting that
The Louvre in Paris should exhibit
Leonardo da Vinci's
Mona Lisa in its own dedicated space. In 2023 he was a finalist for the
Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. The Pulitzer Prize organization in awarding him the honor stated that it was "for art criticism, especially for taking a critical eye to the frontlines of
Ukraine to explore the cultural dimensions of the war, including verifying damages to architecture and other sites and explaining Russia's efforts to erase the Ukrainian identity." Indeed in a "Critic's Notebook", Farago penned in-depth on-site coverage of how the war in Ukraine was not only a military one but a cultural one as well. Farago is also the editor and co-founder of
Even, an art magazine devoted to long-form criticism. Farago also writes for
The Guardian, for which he previously served as their U.S. based art critic,
The New Republic, and
The New Yorker, as well being a regular contributor to
Artforum. Though Farago lived and worked in London for a considerable span, he now once again lives and works in his hometown of New York City. ==References==