W. C. (William Crary) Brownell

Born in New York City in 1851, William Crary Brownell became an American critic and man of letters whose essays ranged across literature, painting, architecture, and travel. He is especially associated with graceful, reflective criticism that tried to connect works of art with the wider world of culture and everyday life.

Brownell worked as a literary adviser and reader for the publishing house Charles Scribner's Sons, a role that placed him close to the literary world of his time. He also wrote a number of books, including studies of French writers and books on cities such as Paris and Rome, showing his lasting interest in European culture.

He died in 1928. Though not as widely read today as some of his contemporaries, Brownell remains an interesting figure for listeners who enjoy elegant criticism, travel writing, and portraits of artistic life from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.