Australian art critic Robert Hughes dies

Australian art critic, historian and filmmaker Robert Hughes has died in New York aged 74 after a long illness his relatives said on Tuesday.

Malcolm Turnbull, who is married to Hughes' niece, issued a statement from Hughes's wife Doris confirming the death. Turnbull is a member of parliament and a former leader of the Liberal Party.

Born in Sydney in 1938, Hughes studied arts and architecture at Sydney University.

He left Australia for Britain in the early 1960s, writing for publications such as The Times and The Observer before landing a position as art critic for Time magazine in 1970, where he made his name.Hughes had lived in New York since 1970, when he became art critic for Time magazine.

In 1987 Hughes published The Fatal Shore, a seminal history of Australia as a British penal colony.

Hughes is survived by his third wife, Doris Downes. His previous marriages ended in divorce, and in 2002 his son by his first wife took his own life.