Born: May 3, 1955
Passed: November 7, 2010
Kathryn Hixson, 55, widely known and admired for her work in Chicago as an art critic, teacher, historian, curator and enthusiastic champion of art, died Sunday, Nov. 7, at her Evanston home. Ms. Hixson was raised near the University of Texas at Austin by her father, Elmer, an electrical engineering professor, and her mother, Betty. She took to music early, playing piano and harpsichord, and planned to study harpsichord at Carleton College in Minnesota before making a switch to art for her bachelor’s degree in 1977. She went on to complete a Master of Fine Arts degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1985, and since then taught on and off at the school. Known for delivering thoughtful lectures and leading stimulating discussions, Ms. Hixson was an adjunct professor in SAIC’s art history, theory and criticism department, and an adjunct faculty member and adviser in both the fiber and material studies and new art journalism departments. As editor of Chicago’s now-defunct New Art Examiner magazine, she played an important role as a critic of the local art scene.
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