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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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

Biography

Brownell graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

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 to 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers as a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publisher Jo ...

, and he was on the staff of

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly 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 ...

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 that has published several notable American authors, including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjori ...

. 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 (September 8, 1863 – February 28, 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, the children's writer). In her autobiography, ''A Backward Glance'',

Edith Wharton Edith Newbold Wharton (; ; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gil ...

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 of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

Notes

References

*''Twentieth Century Authors: A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Literature'', edited by Stanley J. Kunitz 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