Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer (1851–1934) was an American author, critic, and theorist, known for her contributions to architecture, landscape architecture, and art criticism. Among the first women to write extensively on architecture, she shaped public discourse on design and aesthetics.
Born in New York City, she was educated in Germany, developing a deep appreciation for European art and architecture. She began writing in 1876, rising to prominence in the 1880s as a leading architectural critic. She contributed to American Art Review, Century Magazine, and Garden and Forest. She received the American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal (1923) and an honorary doctorate from Columbia University (1910.)
Her influential books include Henry Hobson Richardson and His Works (1888,) a pioneering study of American architecture; English Cathedrals (1892,) covering Canterbury, Durham, Salisbury, and other sites; Art Out-of-Doors: Hints on Good Taste in Gardening (1893;) and History of the City of New York in the Seventeenth Century (1909.) Her works explored architectural theory, landscape design, and urban history.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer
Today the art of gardening is practised much more often than any other, in ignorant, impulsive ways, by people who never stop to think that it is an art at all.
—Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer
Topics: Gardening
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