AustLit

'Robert Hughes was charming to meet. A robust conversationalist, he was witty, wide ranging and courteous. In my experience he never tried to dominate even when he was the dominant personality at the table. We met over the years accidentally and casually - good acquaintances rather than friends. The more successful he became professionally, the more likeable he was as a man. You could not ask for a better companion at lunch or dinner. His eye-popping, outsize TV personality was held in abeyance in personal encounters.' (Introduction 24)