Arthur Byne

Arthur Byne (25 September 1884 – 1935) is a controversial figure in the history of Spanish art and architecture. Members of the Hispanic Society of America, Byne and his wife, Mildred Stapley Byne, published extensively on the art and architecture of Spain and are credited with promoting Spanish culture and its revival in the United States,^[1] yet Byne is also known as a plunderer of Spanish buildings and artefacts.^[2]

Early life and education

Born Arthur Gustave Bein in Newark, New Jersey in 1884, he attended Booth Preparatory School and Eaton School.^[1] In 1905 Byne was awarded a Certificate of Proficiency in Architecture by the University of Pennsylvania^[3] and went on to study at the American Academy in Rome.^[4]

Career

Byne never practiced as an architect although it is recorded that he worked for a short time in the

Both Byne and his wife Mildred Stapley (1875-1941), an art historian in her own right who specialised in Spanish art and architecture, became Corresponding Members of the Hispanic Society in 1914 and acted as the museum's first curators of 'Architecture and Allied Arts' between 1916 and 1918. The Bynes also published a number of books through the Hispanic Society and, in 1916, they were commissioned by Archer Huntingdon, the founder of the society, to embark on a research trip to Spain.^[7]

By 1914 the Bynes had set up residence in

Byne died in a car crash in Ciudad Real in 1935 ^[15] and his wife, who he had married in 1910, died in 1941.^[7] Both are buried in the British Cemetery in Madrid at Carabanchel.^[16]

The couple were childless and in 1942 their estate was acquired by the US Government including the property at Calle Don Ramón de la Cruz, 3 that the Bynes had purchased in 1931. It is now a diplomatic residence and listed in the Register of Culturally Significant Property owned by the United States Department of State.^[17]

Selected publications

• Spanish Interiors and Furniture, (1921-25), new edition, Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley, New York : Dover Publications, 1969,
  ISBN 048622502X
• Majorcan Houses and Gardens, a Spanish Island in the Mediterranean, Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley, New York : William Helburn, 1928
• Provincial Houses in Spain, Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley, New York : William Helburn, 1925
• Spanish Gardens and Patios, Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley, Philadelphia ; London : J. B. Lippincott Co. ; New York : Architectural Record, 1924. Reprinted in 2008
• Spanish Interiors and Furniture, 4 volumes, Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley, New York : Architectural Book Publishing Company, 1922
• Decorated Wooden Ceilings in Spain, Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley, New York : Hispanic Society of America, 1920
• Spanish Architecture of the Sixteenth Century, Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley, New York & London : G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1917
• Spanish Ironwork, Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley, New York : Hispanic Society of America, 1915
• Rejería of the Spanish Renaissance, New York : Hispanic Society of America, 1914