New York Times assembles quotes from artists who died in 2025

The New York Times published a year-end tribute on Dec. 22, 2025, assembling short quotations from cultural figures who died this year, naming Robert Redford, Roberta Flack, Diane Keaton, Brian Wilson and David Lynch among those featured.

Titled “Artists We Lost in 2025, in Their Words,” the piece presents single-line remarks from actors, musicians, writers, artists, architects, composers and dancers. It opens with a quote attributed to David Lynch — “People are like detectives and our lives are filled with clues” — and includes many other brief statements that the paper says reflect how these figures helped shape culture.

The article, presented as a tribute “to just some of them, in their voices,” points readers to individual obituaries with “Read the obituary” links and identifies Gabe Cohn as the Times editor who writes about arts and culture. The feature is a curated selection of remarks rather than a comprehensive list, the piece indicates.

Key Topics

Culture, Robert Redford, Artists We Lost, Roberta Flack, Diane Keaton, Brian Wilson