American art historian
Mildred Stapley Byne (1875-1941) was an American art historian who specialized in Spanish art and architecture. With her husband Arthur Byne (1883-1935), whom she married in 1910, she wrote many of the first academic works in English on the architecture and ironwork of Spanish colonial North America.
Byne's first noted essay on "The Great Queen Isabel" was published in "Harper's Monthly Magazine" in June 1912. Her most famous book is "Christopher Columbus," a popular biography that brought new research done in Spanish to English-speaking audiences. Seventeen editions have been published between 1915 and 2012.
Both members of the couple were corresponding members of the Hispanic Society of America, and served as curators of architecture and applied arts from 1916 to 1921. In 1921, the Bynes ended their relationship with the HSA and settled permanently in Madrid.
Through their friend Julia Morgan, the couple helped American collector William Randolph Hearst acquire Spanish art and decorative items. After 1921, the Bynes established themselves as dealers. They also served as historical consultants for Spanish colonial and colonial-style houses in California.
Their work was widely praised, and one reviewer wrote of one of their books: "A book like this is a stimulant to the creative faculty."
In 1931, couple bought a home in Madrid built in 1885 by Don Manuel Caldero, the Marqués de Salamanca. It was purchased by the United States government in 1944 and now serves as an American diplomatic building. In 2006, the building was added to the Register of Culturally Significant Property.
The couple's last name is often misspelled as "Byrne" or "Bryne."
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