his reputation as an avant-gardist the conduct of his life was solidly bourgeois. He collaborated closely with museums exhibiting his work, cultivated private collectors, and played off dealers against each other. The book “casts a great deal of light on the way in which a picture becomes valuable… Patronage is as much a romance as a business transaction.” Clement Greenberg: The Collected Essays and Criticism The four volumes of Clement Greenberg: The Collected Essays and Criticism have generated international interest and debate. The first two volumes appeared in 1986, the second two in 1993. In an editorial written for The New Criterion, Hilton Kramer expressed admiration for Greenberg's criticism but distaste for O'Brian's politicization of it. Following a 2009 symposium at Harvard University on Greenberg, Jeff Nguyen wrote: “The symposium kicked off with a roundtable discussion featuring experts on Greenberg’s art criticism: Yve-Alain Bois (heavyweight in 20th century European and American art), Thierry de Duve (specialist in the metaphysics of art, made Duchamp difficult), Serge Guilbaut (specialist in art and politics during the Cold War), Rosalind Krauss (foremost champion of Greenberg, turned defector), John O’Brian (editor of the Collected Essays and Criticism). Benjamin Buchloch was the moderator. Holy Critics! How many more rock stars can you cram into a room? The only person missing from this esteemed company was Michael Fried. The University of British Columbia (Serge Guilbaut and John O’Brian) appears to be a happening place for art history.” Research and Archives Until the early 2000s, O’Brian’s research focused on modern art history and criticism, primarily in North America. Since then, it has concentrated on nuclear photography in North America and Japan. His archives include photographs, study notes, correspondence, interviews, journal reviews, and press clippings. Notable collections within the archives include correspondence with Clement Greenberg from 1981-1993 and atomic photographs (military, press, and vernacular), artworks, protest leaflets, propaganda pamphlets, corporate reports, government bulletins, newspaper front pages, and postcards. The archives are promised to the National Gallery of Canada. Awards and recognition Universities Art Association of Canada Lifetime Achievement Award, 2020 Sports Hall of Fame, University of Toronto, 2016 Thakore Award in Human Rights and Peace Studies, Simon Fraser University, 2011 Honorary Doctorate from Trinity College at the University of Toronto, 2011 Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, 2009 Brenda & David McLean Chair in Canadian Studies, University of British Columbia, 2008-2011 Visiting Research Professor, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, 2007