William Crary Brownell (August 30, 1851 – July 22, 1928) was an American literary and art critic, born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, son of Isaac W Brownell and his wife Lucia E née Brown.

Biography

Brownell graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1871, from where he also later received two honorary degrees. From 1871 to 1879 he wrote for the

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publi ...

, and he was on the staff of

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

from 1879 to 1881. From 1888 until 1926 he was a literary advisor at

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

. He published ''French Traits'' (1889), an essay in comparative criticism; ''French Art'' (1892), classic and contemporary painting and sculpture; ''Newport'' (1896); ''Victorian Prose Masters'' (1901); ''American Prose Masters'' (1909). Brownell married Virginia S. Swinburne in 1878. Ten years after her death in 1911, he married

Gertrude Hall Gertrude Hall (8 September 1863 – 28 February 1961), also known as Gertrude Hall Brownell, was an American writer of poems, short stories, novels, and nonfiction. She also translated works from the French. She was the second wife of American ...

(1863-1961) the writer, poet and translator (not to be confused with

Anna Gertrude Hall Anna Gertrude Hall (1882–1967) was a well known children and young adult author. Honored with a Newbery Medal honor in 1941 for her novel, '' Nansen''. Anna Gertrude Hall was born in West Bloomfield, New York to Myron Edwin and Anna (Sterli ...

, the children's writer). In her autobiography, ''A Backward Glance'',

Edith Wharton Edith Wharton (; born Edith Newbold Jones; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and interior designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray ...

mentions him appreciatively as one of the finest literary men of his age and a significant contributor to the New York literary scene. His studies of the later English prose writers were highly regarded and deservedly praised; he was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

Notes

References

*''Twentieth Century Authors: A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Literature'', edited by

Stanley J. Kunitz Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

and Howard Haycraft, New York, The H. W. Wilson Company, 1942. *''William Crary Brownell. An Anthology of his Writings together with Biographical Notes and Impressions of the Later Years'', by

Brownell. Published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York (1933)

External links

* *
William Crary Brownell (AC 1871) Papers
from the Amherst College Archives & Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Brownell, William Crary 1851 births 1928 deaths American art critics American literary critics American essayists American male essayists Writers from New York City Amherst College alumni Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters