Philip Kennicott

Philip Kennicott is a well-known writer who works as the Senior Art and Architecture Critic for The Washington Post. He has won a Pulitzer Prize, which is a big award for excellent writing and journalism.

His job is to look at art, buildings, and design from all over the world and share his thoughts with readers. He helps people understand and appreciate the beauty and importance of different kinds of art and architecture.

Because of his expertise and thoughtful reviews, Kennicott has become an important voice in talking about culture and creativity. His work encourages others to see and think about art in new ways.

Education

Philip Kennicott grew up in Schenectady, New York, where he learned to play the piano from a composer named Joseph Fennimore. He first went to Deep Springs College in 1983 and later moved to Yale University in 1986. He finished his studies at Yale in 1988, earning a top honor called summa cum laude for his degree in philosophy.

Career

Philip Kennicott has written a book called Counterpoint: A Memoir of Bach and Mourning. He won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Before that, he was almost a winner twice: in 2012 for criticism, and in 2000 for a series about gun control in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In 2015, he was almost a winner for a big magazine award for an essay he wrote for the Virginia Quarterly Review. In 2006, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a video about democracy and oil money in Azerbaijan.

Kennicott worked as an editor for several music magazines in New York City from 1988 to 1995. He was the classical music critic for the Detroit News in 1995, and later became the Chief Classical Music Critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In 1999, he joined the Washington Post as Chief Classical Music Critic, then became Culture Critic in 2001, and Art and Architecture Critic in 2011. He has also written for The New Republic and reviewed music for Gramophone.

His book Counterpoint: A Memoir of Bach and Mourning received praise for its insights about music and reflections on family. He often speaks at important meetings around the world, such as the Aspen Ideas Festival, the CATO Institute, and the World Justice Forum IV in the Hague.