Clarence Chatham Cook (September 8, 1828 – June 2, 1900) was a 19th-century American author and

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

. Born in

Dorchester, Massachusetts Dorchester () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood comprising more than in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester, Dorset, E ...

, Cook graduated from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

in 1849 and worked as a teacher. Between 1863 and 1869, Cook wrote a series of articles about American art for The New York Tribune. In 1869, he moved to France and was the Parisian correspondent for The New York Tribune until the onset of the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. Cook was known for his expertise in archeology and antiquities and was instrumental in the criticism of the collection of General di Cesnola. In the mid-1850s Cook began to read works by

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

and associated with a group of American artists, writers, and architects who followed Ruskin's thinking. Through this group he became aware of the British

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossett ...

. In 1863, with

Clarence King Clarence Rivers King (January 6, 1842 – December 24, 1901) was an American geologist, mountaineer, and author. He was the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1881. Nominated by Republican President Rutherford B. ...

and John William Hill he helped to found the Society for the Advancement of Truth in Art, an American group, similar to the Pre-Raphaelites, who published a journal called ''The New Path.'' In 1869 Cook wrote ''A Description of the New York Central Park''. In 1877, articles on home furnishings that Cook had written for

Scribner's Monthly ''Scribner's Monthly: An Illustrated Magazine for the People'' was an illustrated American literary periodical published from 1870 until 1881. Following a change in ownership in 1881 of the company that had produced it, the magazine was relaunc ...

were published as a book entitled ''The House Beautiful''. In 1879, Cook served as editor for Wilhelm Lübke's ''History of Art''. Cook died at his home in Fishkill Landing, New York, from complications of

Bright's Disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...

. He was 71.

Family

On October 26, 1852, Cook married Louisa DeWindt Whittemore, daughter of John P. DeWindt and Caroline A. Smith and widow of Samuel Whittemore Jr. They had a daughter, Clara, who died at one year 5 months old (February 4, 1853 – July 25, 1854). Louisa was a granddaughter of

William Stephens Smith William Stephens Smith (November 8, 1755 – June 10, 1816) was a United States representative from New York. He married Abigail "Nabby" Adams, the daughter of President John Adams, and so was a brother-in-law of President John Quincy ...

and Abigail "Nabby" Adams Smith and great-granddaughter of President

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

and

Abigail Adams Abigail Adams ( ''née'' Smith; – October 28, 1818) was the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, the second president of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States. She was a founder o ...

References

*Cook, Clarence. ''The House Beautiful: An Unabridged Reprint of the Classic Victorian Stylebook''. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. *Graff, M. M. ''The Men Who Made Central Park''. New York: Greensward Foundation, 1982. *Morris, Lloyd R. ''Incredible New York; High Life and Low Life of the Last Hundred Years''. New York: Random House, 1951. *"Clarence Cook Dead" ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. June 3, 1900

External links

The Greensward Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Clarence 1828 births 1900 deaths American art critics Harvard University alumni New-York Tribune people American expatriates in France 19th-century American journalists American male journalists People from Dorchester, Boston Writers from Boston 19th-century American male writers

Family

See also

References

External links