Margaret Neilson Armstrong was a 20th century American designer, illustrator, and author
Background
Margaret Neilson Armstrong was born on September 24, 1867, in New York City, the daughter of American diplomat and stained glass artist Maitland Armstrong and his wife Helen, who was a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant and a niece of Hamilton Fish. Her six siblings included Helen Maitland Armstrong (1869–1948), who followed in her father"s footsteps to become a stained glass artist, and Hamilton Fish Armstrong, a magazine editors
Education
Privately educated. Writer, illustrator, painter. Director Association for Aid of Crippled Children, New New New York
Career
She is best known for her book covers in the Art Nouveau style but also wrote and illustrated the first comprehensive guide to wildflowers of the American west. She also wrote mystery novels and biographies. She began her career as a designer in the 1880s, working initially for A.C. (before Christ) McClurg and later for other publishers as well.
She designed more than 270 book covers and book bindings, about half of which were for Scribner’son
She worked in the Art Nouveau style and favored plant-related motifs, bold colors, gold stamping, and often slightly asymmetrical designs—an unusual combination that helped to distinguish her among her peers. Authors for whom she designed several covers include Frances Hodgson Burnett, Florence L. Barclay, George Washington Cable, Charles Dickens, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry van Dyke, and Myrtle Reed.
Her monogram appears on many covers after 1895. lieutenant is a simple "Master of Arts" in upper case with the "M" slightly overlapping the "A".
Armstrong cut back on book cover design around 1913 as dust jackets began to come into fashion and turned to writing her own books
(Her signature style was so successful, however, that publishers then hired artists specifically to imitate her look) Her, with its 550 illustrations (48 of which were in color), is considered the first comprehensive guide on the subject. In her sixties and seventies, she wrote three critically praised mystery novels—, The Manitoba with Number Face (1940), and —and two biographies, and She also completed her father"s memoirs.
She died in New York City in 1944.
Her work is in the Metropolitan Museum of Artist