Art Metropole

#04906

The Surveyor

Artist

Fabian Reimann

Price

$47.00

Date

2011

Publisher

Spector Books

Format

Artists' Books

ISBN

978-3-940064-94-3

Size

22 × 31 × 1.5 cm

Length

145 

By the end of 1979, Sir Anthony Frederick Blunt was no longer Sir. The reason can be traced back to Cambridge where he was a student – and a member of a secret circle of men who were young and ardent advocates of Communism. Later they became known as the Cambridge Five. The first of them was exposed in 1951, the second one a year later. By this time, Blunt was professor of Art History and Adviser for the Queen’s Pictures and Drawings. He was in charge of managing the Royal Family’s collection of paintings. His focus was on French and Italian art, especially Poussin. In 1963, the third member of the Cambridge Five was uncovered. Like the others, he had sought refuge in Moscow. Blunt’s secret identity became known the year after, but it was not publicly revealed to avoid damage to the Queen. It took another 15 years for Margaret Thatcher to publicise it. This work functions as an investigation into the scandal.