Sydney Joseph Freedberg (November 11, 1914 – May 6, 1997) was an American art historian and curator, mainly of
Italian Renaissance painting
Italian Renaissance painting is the painting of the period beginning in the late 13th century and flourishing from the early 15th to late 16th centuries, occurring in the Italian Peninsula, which was at that time divided into many political stat ...
.
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. 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
Bernard Berenson (June 26, 1865 – October 6, 1959) was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance. His book ''The Drawings of the Florentine Painters'' was an international success. His wife Mary is thought to have had a large ...
. 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
National Gallery of Art in
Washington, DC
)
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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
Save Venice, 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.
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
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