Kate Carew

Who was Kate Carew?

Mary Williams, who wrote pseudonymously as Kate Carew, was a caricaturist self-styled as "The Only Woman Caricaturist". She worked at the New York World from 1890 to 1901, providing illustrated celebrity interviews.

Williams was born in Oakland, California, and attended the San Francisco School of Art and Design. She worked as a staff artist for the San Francisco Examiner in the 1890s, under the sponsorship of Ambrose Bierce. She moved to New York City, when she fell in love with Harry Kellett Chambers, an Australian journalist and playwright. There she worked for several New York dailies; Joseph Pulitzer hired her to work for his "New York World" newspaper doing illustrated celebrity interviews. She was sent to London and Paris, where she interviewed Pablo Picasso and Rostand, John Galsworthy, George Moore, Bret Harte, and many others. She wrote about 500 pieces for New York City newspapers and later for the London Tatler, The Patrician and Eve.

Williams settled in England circa 1912, when her husband left her for Maria Cristina Mena, a young Mexican writer. She was among those who visited `Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the Bahá'í Faith, during his visit to the States and travelled with him for a number of days. On April 16, 1912 with Mary Williams still travelling with him, `Abdu'l-Bahá visited the Bowery. Mary Williams noted that she was impressed with `Abdu'l-Bahá's generosity of spirit in bringing people of social standing to the Bowery as well as that he then gave money to the poor rather than accepting it.