Elisabeth Luther Cary

Who was Elisabeth Luther Cary?

Elisabeth Luther Cary was an American writer and art critic.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, she was the daughter of Edward and Elisabeth Cary. Her father was editor of the Brooklyn Union and later became a New York Times editorial writer. Elisabeth was privately educated and from 1885–1898 she studied art. From 1893–1895, she translated three novels from French. In the years that followed she published a series of studies on prominent literary figures. In 1904, she collaborated with Annie M. Jones to produce a book of recipes inspired by quotes from famous literary figures titled, Books and My Food. She began publishing a monthly small art magazine called The Scrip in 1905.

In 1908, she was named the first full-time art critic for the New York Times, where she worked for the next twenty five years. Following World War I, she helped encourage the founding of industrial arts schools and the introduction of machinery into the studio. After living in Brooklyn her entire life, she died of heat exhaustion in 1936. She was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn.