Robert Allerton Parker

Robert Allerton Parker (1888–1970) was a journalist, editor, and critic for numerous publications throughout the twentieth century, including Current Opinion , Arts and Decoration , and The International Studio . His criticism helped shape contemporary art, film, and theatre, and his initial review of the avant-garde film Manhatta was among the few to situate it as a major modernist breakthrough.

Parker published several biographies that focused on popular religious movements, such as the Father Divine movement and Quaker communities, in such books as A Yankee Saint (1935), The Incredible Messiah (1937), and The Transatlantic Smiths (1959).