Royal Cortissoz

He trained as an architect, spending six years working at the firm of McKim, Mead, and White, starting at the age of 16, before joining the staff of the Commercial Advertiser.

[5] However, the hectic life of a journalist and the pressure of trying to establish the Tribune as a cultural leader led to a mental breakdown, or neurasthenia as he was diagnosed.

[7] Cortissoz was so influential that his praise was eagerly sought by artists,[1] and the organizers of the landmark 1913 Armory Show were worried about what he might think.

In 1923, he drew a comparison between the surge of prominent European modernists arriving on American shores with the hot button issue of immigration, coining the derisive term "Ellis Island art" in an attempt to denigrate the newcomers' rising status in the art world.

He felt artists attached to these movements, such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Piet Mondrian were egotists.

"[11] He did, however, have praise for American modernists who used traditional techniques, such as Arthur B. Davies, Guy Pène du Bois, and Georgia O'Keeffe.