Sydney Joseph Freedberg (November 11, 1914 – May 6, 1997) was an American art historian and curator, mainly of Italian Renaissance painting. Freedberg was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and attended the

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum f ...

. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1939, and acquired a doctoral degree a year later. One of his mentors was Bernard Berenson. He taught Fine Arts at Harvard from 1954 to 1983. At the time of his retirement in 1983 he was the Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of Fine Arts at Harvard. He became chief curator from 1983 to 1988 of the

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in 1983 upon retiring from Harvard. During the Second World War, Freedberg risked disciplinary action by refusing as a matter of conscience to work on intelligence about Rome. Later he would say that "I was worried that the information I might gather might be used in a military operation against that city", and thus lead to irreparable damage to works of art there. Despite his decision, he was made an Honorary

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(Military Division) for his contributions to the war effort. In November 1966, after disastrous floods in Italy, Freedberg served as national vice chairman (1966–74) of the Committee to Rescue Italian Art. In 1970, Freedberg began service on the board of directors of

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, of which he was a founding member. For these many contributions to the preservation and greater understanding of Italian art and culture, Freedberg was made a Grand Officer in the Order of the Star of Solidarity (Italy) in 1968 and a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 1982. He was also awarded honors in 1986 by the Socio del Ateneo Veneto and the Academia Clementina Bologna. A year later he began service on the Advisory Council to the Vatican Museums for the Sistine Chapel Restoration (serving as president from 1990 to 1993). In 1995, he was awarded the International Galileo Galilei Prize. In 1988, he was awarded the

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...

.Lifetime Honors – National Medal of Arts

Selected books

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References

American art historians Writers from Boston Harvard College alumni Harvard University faculty 1914 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers American art curators Historians from Massachusetts Boston Latin School alumni 20th-century American male writers {{US-art-historian-stub