Mary Berenson

[2] There, Mary met the Irish barrister Benjamin "Frank" Conn Costelloe, whom she married in 1885, having converted to Catholicism.

[5] Berenson developed a reputation as an art expert, and it is believed that Mary substantially helped Bernard's work .

[1] Her U.S. lecture tours were instrumental in developing an interest in Italian Renaissance art among wealthy American collectors during the first decade of the 20th century.

[8][9] She hosted some of the most celebrated personalities of the period, including Edith Wharton, Gertrude Stein, Gabriele D'Annunzio, John Maynard Keynes, and Isabella Stewart Gardner.

In 1940, her eldest daughter died of surgery complications, and she was left by her husband under Fascist regulations (as he was a Jew) in the care of Mariano's sister.