Born in Boston in 1914, Frederick Hartt was an Italian Renaissance scholar.
During World War II was an officer in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program of the US Army, and from 1944 was particularly active in the reconstruction of Florence.
He also organized the structure of the “Monuments Men” in Italy, which allowed for the cataloging of all artistic and monumental assets, up to the recovery of works looted by the Third Reich.
Professor of Art History in several U.S.
Universities, in November 1966 he left temporarily his engagement with University of Pennsylvania to go back to Florence in order to help the population after the flood.
He was then among the promoters of CRIA – Commitee to Rescue Italian Art, with the aim of raising funds for the recovery of Florence.
He was also made an honorary citizen of Florence.
Hartt died in Washington, D.C., in 1991.
He is buried in Florence, in the Cimitero delle Porte Sante.
