John Charles van Dyke (1856-1932) was an American art historian and critic. He was born at New Brunswick, N. J., studied at Columbia, and for many years in Europe. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1877 but never practiced law. He was appointed librarian at Sage Library, New Brunswick in 1878, then in 1899 professor of art history in Rutgers College. He was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He wrote a series of critical guide books: New Guides to Old Masters. He edited Modern French Masters (1896), Old Dutch and Flemish Masters (1901), Old English Masters; and a series of histories covering the history of art in America.