She was born on Staten Island in 1911, to a delicatessen-owning father who was an amateur sculptor.
After studying at Hunter College and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, she went to work as a writer for the New York World, eventually becoming a critic in the 1930s.
She was instrumental in introducing modern artists to her readers, championing Marc Chagall, Diego Rivera and Pablo Picasso.
Genauer joined the New York Herald Tribune, where she was the art critic through 1967.
Genauer also wrote books and served on the National Council on the Humanities from 1966 to 1970.