Ruth Putnam McAneny Loud (March 9, 1901 – December 31, 1990) was an American arts administrator, educator, and civic leader. She was the first woman to serve as president of the Municipal Art Society.

Ruth McAneny Loud
A smiling young white woman photographed outdoors, wearing a cardigan suit over a white blouse with a long pointed collar; she holds books with one arm
Ruth McAneny (later Loud), from the yearbook of Bryn Mawr College
Born
Ruth Putnam McAneny

March 9, 1901
New York City, United States
DiedDecember 31, 1990(1990-12-31) (aged 89)
New York City, United States
Occupation(s)Arts administrator, educator
ParentGeorge McAneny
RelativesAbraham Jacobi (grandfather); Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi (grandmother)

Early life and education

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Ruth McAneny was born in New York City, the daughter of George McAneny and Marjorie Jacobi McAneny.[1] Her father was a newspaperman, politician, and urban planner. Her maternal grandparents, Abraham Jacobi and Mary Putnam Jacobi, were noted physicians.[2] She graduated from the Brearley School and from Bryn Mawr College in 1923.[3][4]

Career

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Loud taught at her alma mater, The Brearley School, from 1929 to 1946. She co-wrote a guide to traveling in New York City with children, published in 1946 as a fundraiser for a Brearley School scholarship.[5] After leaving the classroom, she was director of development at the Museum of the City of New York.[3]

Loud joined the Metropolitan Art Society in 1954, after her father's death, to take up some of his work on architectural preservation. She became the first woman elected president of the Municipal Art Society in 1965,[6] and remained in that position until 1970; she served on the society's board of directors for the rest of her life.[7]

Publications

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  • New York! New York! A Knickerbocker Holiday for You and Your Children (1946, with Agnes Adams Wales)[8]

Personal life

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McAneny married Henry Sherman Loud in 1924.[9] They had two children, Roger[10][11] and Margaret.[12] The Louds divorced in 1944.[13] She died from complications following surgery in 1990, at the age of 89, in New York City.[3][7]

References

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  1. ^ "Remembering George McAneny: The Reformer, Planner, and Preservationist Who Shaped Modern New York". The Gotham Center for New York City History. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  2. ^ Perella, Chrissie (November 13, 2013). "Mary Putnam Jacobi: Still famous after 150 years". Drexel University Legacy Center. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Ruth McAneny Loud, Civic Leader, 89, Dies". The New York Times. January 2, 1991. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  4. ^ Bryn Mawr College, Class of 1923 (1923 yearbook): 92.
  5. ^ "'A Knickerbocker Holiday' Points Out Places Of Interest to Explorers in a Wonder City". The New York Times. January 22, 1945. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  6. ^ "Municipal Art Group Elects Mrs. Ruth Loud President". The New York Times. November 24, 1965. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Ruth McAneny Loud |". The New York Preservation Archive Project (NYPAP). Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  8. ^ Loud, Ruth McAneny; Wales, Agnes Adams (1946). New York! New York!: A Knickerbocker Holiday for You and Your Children. Duell, Sloan and Pearce.
  9. ^ "Miss Ruth McAneny Fiancee of H. Sherman Loud, Jr". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 24, 1924. p. 7. Retrieved March 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Obituary of Roger Sherman Loud". M B Clark Funeral Home. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  11. ^ Rosenbluth, Joanna (June 6, 2018). "Exit Interview: Mr. Roger Loud". The Mirror. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  12. ^ "Margaret Faron Obituary". The Star-Ledger, via Legacy.com. November 16, 2006. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  13. ^ "Decrees Granted". Reno Gazette-Journal. August 11, 1944. p. 14. Retrieved March 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.