Mariana Alley Griswold Van Rensselaer

Mariana Alley Griswold Van Rensselaer (born Feb. 21, 1851, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Jan. 20, 1934, New York City) was an American writer and critic who is perhaps best remembered for her insightful works on architecture and landscaping.

Mariana Griswold, the daughter of a prosperous mercantile family, was educated privately at home and in Europe. She married Schuyler Van Rensselaer in 1873, and the couple lived in New Brunswick, New Jersey, until 1884, when Schuyler died and Mariana returned to New York City.

Van Rensselaer’s writing career began with the publication of a poem in Harper’s Magazine and an article on art in American Architect and Building, both in 1876. Other articles and reviews of contemporary artists followed, and she published two books—Book of American Figure Painters and American Etchers—in 1886. Her series on “Recent American Architecture” in Century Magazine gave rise to her full-length study Henry Hobson Richardson and His Works (1888), long the standard work on that major figure. She was elected an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects in 1890 for her clear and incisive writings on architecture. Her other books include Six Portraits (1889), a set of studies of Renaissance and modern artists, and English Cathedrals (1892). A series for Garden and Forest magazine entitled “The Art of Gardening: A Historical Sketch” was a pioneering work and led to her writing Art Out of Doors (1893). The Society of Landscape Artists also elected her to honorary membership.

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From 1894 Van Rensselaer became more active in social issues. She taught literature at the University Settlement from 1894 to 1898 and served as president of the organization’s women’s auxiliary the last two years. She was a public school inspector and, from 1899 to 1906, was president of the Public Education Association of New York City; she led a campaign to have reproductions of great works of art hung in schoolrooms. Her later writings include Shall We Ask for Suffrage? (1894), a pamphlet in which she answered in the negative; One Man Who Was Content (1897), a collection of stories; History of the City of New York in the Seventeenth Century (1909), a monumental work; Poems (1910); and Many Children (1921), a collection of poems for children. In 1923 she was awarded a gold medal by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.