Arthur Coleman Danto

1. Introduction

Arthur Coleman Danto (1924–2013) was an American philosopher and art critic whose work reshaped late‑20th‑century aesthetics and influenced debates about history, narrative, and the nature of philosophy itself. Working largely within the analytic tradition but drawing heavily on Hegelian themes, he developed an influential conception of art as embodied meaning situated within an historically evolving artworld—a network of theories, institutions, and critical practices.

Danto became widely known for using cases of indiscernible counterparts—for example, Andy Warhol’s Brillo Box and an ordinary Brillo carton—to argue that artworks cannot be defined simply by perceptible properties. Instead, he claimed, an object’s status as art depends on the interpretive frameworks and historical narratives through which it is understood. This approach contributed to institutional and contextual theories of art, while remaining distinct in its emphasis on meaning and interpretation.

Alongside his theoretical writings, Danto served for nearly three decades as art critic for The Nation, where he applied philosophical analysis to contemporary art. This dual role positioned him as a bridge between academic philosophy and the broader art public.

Beyond aesthetics, Danto contributed to the philosophy of history, defending a nuanced account of narrative explanation, and advanced the provocative thesis of the “end of art”: that the teleological history of Western art has reached a terminus, giving way to a pluralistic “post‑historical” era in which, in principle, anything can be art. His work continues to frame discussions of art’s definition, the role of interpretation, and the relation between philosophical theory and artistic practice.

2. Life and Historical Context

Danto was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1924 and grew up in Detroit during the interwar period, a context of industrial expansion and cultural modernization in the United States. His early life coincided with the rise of American modernism and the gradual shift of the art world’s center of gravity from Europe to New York.

His service in the United States Army during World War II brought him into contact with Europe at a moment of profound cultural and political upheaval. Commentators often suggest that this experience contributed to his later sensitivity to historical rupture and to the relation between art, politics, and collective memory.

After the war, Danto studied philosophy at Columbia University, receiving his PhD in 1952. He joined Columbia’s philosophy department in 1954 and remained there for his entire academic career. Columbia’s proximity to New York’s burgeoning postwar art scene, including Abstract Expressionism, Pop art, and later conceptual and installation practices, provided the immediate context in which he encountered the problems that would shape his aesthetics.

Danto’s mature work developed amid several overlapping intellectual and artistic currents:

He died in New York City in 2013, having worked through several major transformations of the contemporary art world whose theoretical implications he continually analyzed.

3. Intellectual Development

Danto’s intellectual trajectory is often described in terms of distinct but overlapping phases, each marked by shifting primary concerns yet continuous methodological interests in language, meaning, and history.

Early Analytic and Historical Work

In the 1950s and early 1960s, Danto focused on analytic philosophy of history and language. Influenced by logical empiricism and ordinary‑language philosophy, he examined how historians explain events, the logic of narrative, and the role of description. This period culminated in Analytical Philosophy of History and later Narration and Knowledge, where he argued that narratives confer a kind of conceptual structure not reducible to chronological listing.

Turn to Aesthetics and the “Artworld”

The emergence of Pop art and other avant‑garde movements in the early 1960s prompted Danto’s turn toward aesthetics. Confronted with artworks visually indistinguishable from everyday objects, he sought a new account of what makes something art. His 1964 article “The Artworld” introduced a theory‑ and history‑laden conception of art’s context, marking a decisive shift from general philosophy of history to the philosophy of art.

Systematic Theory of Art

From the 1970s to mid‑1980s, Danto developed a systematic theory of art as embodied meaning, articulated most fully in The Transfiguration of the Commonplace. During this phase he refined distinctions between artworks and “mere real things,” deepened his account of interpretation, and explored the ontological status of artworks.

End of Art and Post‑Historical Pluralism

From the mid‑1980s onwards, Danto integrated his earlier historical and aesthetic interests in the “end of art” thesis, most prominently in After the End of Art. Here he combined a Hegelian narrative of art’s self‑understanding with analysis of contemporary artistic pluralism, proposing that art had entered a “post‑historical” condition.

Throughout these phases, his concurrent role as a public art critic led him to continually test, illustrate, and sometimes revise his theories in response to contemporary practice.

4. Major Works

Danto’s major writings span philosophy of history, aesthetics, and art criticism. The following overview highlights works most frequently cited in discussions of his thought.

These works collectively trace a movement from issues in narrative and history to a comprehensive aesthetics centered on interpretation, and then to historically framed reflections on contemporary artistic practice.

5. Core Ideas in Aesthetics and Art Theory

Danto’s aesthetics centers on three interrelated ideas: the artworld, embodied meaning, and the indiscernibility of artworks from ordinary objects.

Artworld and Context

In “The Artworld,” Danto contends that seeing something as art requires more than sensory perception:

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“To see something as art requires something the eye cannot descry—an atmosphere of artistic theory, a knowledge of the history of art: an artworld.”

— Arthur C. Danto, “The Artworld”

The artworld comprises theories, historical narratives, institutions, and critical practices that collectively confer art status. Proponents note that this explains why Warhol’s Brillo Box is art while a supermarket box is not, despite perceptual identity. Some interpreters link this to institutional theories of art, though Danto’s version emphasizes theories and interpretations more than formal institutional acts.

Art as Embodied Meaning

In The Transfiguration of the Commonplace, Danto argues that an artwork is a material object that embodies meaning. Mere things lack this interpretive dimension:

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“The difference between a work of art and a mere real thing lies in the fact that the first embodies meaning, while the second does not.”

— Arthur C. Danto, The Transfiguration of the Commonplace

He maintains that:

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“Nothing is an artwork without an interpretation that constitutes it as such.”

— Arthur C. Danto, The Transfiguration of the Commonplace

Supporters view this as clarifying why different interpretations yield distinct artworks “of the same medium” and why artistic evaluation is partly interpretive. Critics argue that it risks circularity (since interpretations presuppose art status) or overlooks non‑conceptual aesthetic appreciation.

Historical Variability of Art

Danto holds that what counts as art is historically variable. The proliferation of styles and media in the 20th century is taken to show that no single set of perceptual properties can define art, reinforcing his emphasis on historical and theoretical context as constitutive of artworks.

6. Philosophy of History and Narrative

Before becoming prominent in aesthetics, Danto developed an influential account of historical explanation and narrative.

Narrative Explanation

In Analytical Philosophy of History and Narration and Knowledge, Danto distinguishes between mere chronologies and narrative sentences—statements that relate earlier events to later ones (for example, “The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand began World War I”). Such sentences, he argues, cannot be fully evaluated until the later events occur, showing that historical descriptions are temporally “tensed” and retrospective.

Proponents of Danto’s view hold that this captures how historians make sense of the past: by embedding events in stories that reveal connections not apparent at the time. Narratives thus “constitute” historical facts in a specific sense, without implying subjectivism about the past.

Historiography and Objectivity

Danto contends that narrative explanations can be objective even while being selective and interest‑laden. Different narratives may organize the same events for different explanatory purposes (political, economic, cultural), yet remain answerable to evidence and logical constraints. Supporters argue that this position mediates between positivist and relativist approaches to history.

Connection to Aesthetics

His analysis of narrative later informs his understanding of art history. Danto claims that art has a history in a strong sense: “what art is” changes over time, because the concept of art is itself historically shaped. This provides the backdrop for his “end of art” thesis, in which a specific kind of grand historical narrative about art’s development is said to have reached completion. While that thesis belongs more centrally to his aesthetics, its structure is rooted in his earlier work on narrative explanation.

7. Methodology and Analytic Approach

Danto’s work is characteristically analytic in style but eclectic in sources, combining close attention to language with engagement with historical and continental thinkers.

Use of Thought Experiments and Cases

He frequently employs thought experiments and concrete cases—such as the gallery Brillo Box versus the supermarket carton—to isolate conceptual problems. These examples are used to test candidate definitions of art or accounts of historical explanation, in line with analytic philosophy’s focus on counterexamples and conceptual analysis.

Linguistic and Logical Analysis

Danto analyzes the logic of descriptions, narrative sentences, and artistic interpretations, drawing on philosophy of language. In history, he examines how tense and temporal indexicals function in historical discourse. In aesthetics, he investigates the semantics of critical terms and the structure of interpretive claims.

Engagement with Hegel and Continental Traditions

Unlike many early analytic aestheticians, Danto explicitly engages with Hegel, especially in his accounts of historical development and the “end of art.” Methodologically, he treats Hegelian narratives as hypotheses about conceptual change, subjecting them to analytic scrutiny rather than adopting Hegel’s systematic metaphysics.

Relation to Institutional and Cognitive Approaches

His notion of the artworld influenced later institutional theories of art (such as George Dickie’s), but Danto’s methodology differs in placing interpretive meaning, rather than institutional designation alone, at the center. In The Philosophical Disenfranchisement of Art, he critiques methodological tendencies that subordinate art to science or philosophy, arguing that artworks can themselves function as vehicles of thought. Some commentators regard this as a methodological expansion of analytic philosophy to include artworks as quasi‑philosophical “texts” to be interpreted alongside arguments.

Overall, his approach combines analytic precision with sustained attention to historical context and actual artistic practice.

8. Art Criticism and Public Engagement

Danto’s tenure as art critic for The Nation (1984–2009) formed a major dimension of his work, bringing his philosophical ideas into contact with a broad readership and with contemporary artistic practice.

Practice of Philosophical Criticism

In his criticism, later collected in volumes such as Encounters and Reflections: Art in the Historical Present, Danto regularly applied concepts like embodied meaning and the artworld to particular exhibitions and artists. Proponents of this approach emphasize how he:

• Used detailed description of works and installations to illustrate philosophical distinctions.
• Treated exhibitions as occasions to test and refine theoretical ideas (for example, about pluralism after the “end of art”).
• Sought to make complex aesthetic theories accessible without abandoning analytic rigor.

Critics sometimes contend that his reviews could over‑intellectualize artistic experience or favor works that clearly lent themselves to conceptual interpretation.

Engagement with Contemporary Movements

Danto wrote about a wide array of movements—Pop art, minimalism, conceptual art, identity‑based and politically engaged practices, and global contemporary art. He often framed these in terms of post‑historical pluralism, arguing that no single style or medium retained normative authority.

His criticism also touched on ethical and political issues, including representation, censorship, and the role of museums. Commentators note that he maintained a generally optimistic view of art’s capacity to embody complex meanings, including moral and social ones, while resisting reductively political readings.

Influence on Public Discourse

Through The Nation and lectures, Danto helped familiarize non‑specialist audiences with debates about the definition of art, the legacy of modernism, and the significance of contemporary practices that challenge traditional media. Some art historians and critics credit him with exemplifying a model of philosophically informed criticism that treats theory and practice as mutually illuminating.

9. Debates and Criticisms

Danto’s work has generated extensive debate across aesthetics and the philosophy of history.

Definition of Art and Embodied Meaning

Critics of his theory of art as embodied meaning raise several concerns:

• Circularity and dependence on interpretation: Some argue that if “nothing is an artwork without an interpretation,” yet interpretations presuppose that something is an artwork, the account risks circularity.
• Over‑intellectualization: Others contend that the emphasis on meaning and interpretation downplays sensory, emotional, or non‑conceptual aspects of aesthetic experience. Formalists and some phenomenologists question whether conceptual content is necessary for art status.
• Scope: There are debates about whether his account adequately covers non‑Western, ritual, or pre‑historical art, where explicit art theories and institutions may be less central.

Artworld and Institutional Theories

Danto is often associated with institutional theories of art, though his own position is more meaning‑centered. Institutional theorists sometimes claim that his emphasis on theory and context lends implicit support to their views; other commentators argue that he still leaves unexplained how the relevant artworld boundaries are drawn and maintained.

End of Art Thesis

His “end of art” thesis has been especially controversial. Supporters see it as a powerful interpretation of the transition from modernism to a pluralistic contemporary scene, inspired by Hegel but secularized. Critics reply that:

• Artistic developments since the 1980s continue to generate new historical narratives, suggesting that “art history” has not ended.
• The thesis may be unduly Western‑centric, overlooking non‑Western or marginalized traditions whose historical trajectories differ.
• The notion of a single, unified history of art is itself contested within art history.

Philosophy of History and Narrative

In philosophy of history, some historians and philosophers welcome Danto’s account of narrative sentences as capturing historiographical practice. Others argue that it does not adequately address power, ideology, or the social construction of archives and evidence. Post‑structuralist and postmodern theorists sometimes see his position as insufficiently radical in acknowledging the contingency of historical narratives.

These debates reflect both the influence and the contested character of Danto’s contributions.

10. Legacy and Historical Significance

Danto is widely regarded as a central figure in late‑20th‑century analytic aesthetics and as a key interlocutor in broader debates about art and history.

Impact on Aesthetics and Art Theory

His notions of the artworld, embodied meaning, and indiscernible counterparts have become standard reference points in discussions of the definition of art. Institutional and contextual theories often cite his work, even when diverging from it. Many philosophers credit him with shifting analytic aesthetics away from narrowly formalist concerns toward questions of interpretation, history, and the ontology of artworks.

Influence on Philosophy of History

In the philosophy of history, Danto’s analysis of narrative explanation helped inaugurate a wave of interest in the logic and epistemology of historiography. While later theorists have modified or criticized his views, his distinction between mere chronicle and narrative structure remains a staple in textbooks and surveys of the field.

Bridging Analytic and Continental Traditions

By engaging extensively with Hegel and by framing his “end of art” thesis in dialogue with discussions of modernity and postmodernity, Danto played a role in connecting analytic treatments of art to themes more commonly found in continental philosophy and critical theory. This cross‑fertilization has influenced subsequent work on modernism, postmodernism, and historical self‑consciousness.

Role as Public Intellectual

As a long‑time critic for The Nation, Danto demonstrated how philosophical concepts could inform public conversation about contemporary art. Commentators often cite him as a model of philosophically literate art criticism, and his essays continue to be read by students in both philosophy and art history.

Overall, Danto’s legacy is reflected in ongoing debates about what art is, how art relates to history, and how philosophy itself should engage with artistic practice. His ideas remain central reference points for those examining the conceptual and historical conditions under which objects and performances become artworks.