Critics Who Help Readers Notice More

The best critics do not just tell you what to think of a painting, film, building, dance or album; they teach you where to look and listen, so you notice more the next time without them. This list gathers critics across the arts whose writing or broadcasting sharpens attention, each with a concrete example of what they taught readers to see and a good place to start. It favours clear explanation over reputation or access to famous people, and runs in order of birth, from Ruskin's stones and skies to the music, film and art writers of today.