Clarence Cook
Encyclopedia
Clarence Chatham Cook was a 19th-century American author and art critic
.
Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts
, Cook graduated from Harvard
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
.
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
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
. In 1863, with Clarence King
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 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
. He was 71.
Art critic
An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...
.
Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
, Cook graduated from Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
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
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
.
Cook was known for his expertise in archeology and antiquities and was instrumental in the criticism of the collection of General di Cesnola
Luigi Palma di Cesnola
Luigi Palma di Cesnola , an Italian-American soldier and amateur archaeologist, was born in Rivarolo Canavese, near Turin...
.
In the mid-1850s Cook began to read works by John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
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
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
. In 1863, with Clarence King
Clarence King
Clarence R. King was an American geologist, mountaineer, and art critic. First director of the United States Geological Survey, from 1879 to 1881, King was noted for his exploration of the Sierra Nevada. He was born in Newport, Rhode Island.-Career:...
and John William Hill
John William Hill
John William Hill or often J.W. Hill was a British born American artist working in watercolor, gouache, lithography, and engraving. Hill's work focussed primarily upon natural subjects including landscapes, still lifes, and ornithological and zoological subjects...
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 were published as a book entitled The House Beautiful. In 1879, Cook served as editor for Wilhelm Lübke's
Wilhelm Lübke
Wilhelm Lübke was a German art historian, born at Dortmund. He studied at Bonn and Berlin; was professor of architecture at the Berlin Bauakademie and professor of the history of art at Zurich , Stuttgart , and Karlsruhe...
History of Art.
Cook died at his home in Fishkill Landing, New York, from complications of Bright's Disease
Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
. He was 71.