Kirk Varnedoe (1946-2003) was Professor of Art History at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton from 2001 until his death. From 1989 to 2001, he was chief curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. For many years he taught at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. His many books and exhibition catalogues include A Fine Disregard: What Makes Modern Art Modern and, with Adam Gopnik, High and Low: Modern Art and Popular Culture.