Anthony Blunt

Passions

Vocation

British art expert who was exposed as a Soviet spy. Born in Hungary, he was the son of a vicar in charge of the British Embassy church in Paris during WW I and a dominant mother. He and his older brother, Wilfrid were both homosexual and remarkably, kept their secret not only from their parents but from each other. They finally exchanged confidences some time after WW II, at a social event. Blunt attended Cambridge with Donald MacLean and Kim Philby, who, along with Guy Burgess formed a spy ring in the ‘40s, turning over thousands of documents to the Russians. He was a mass of contradictions; a highly effective spy yet a Royal courtier; a committed Marxist and a full-time participant in the establishment; aloof and dignified yet a patron of "rough trade;" a diligent, cool-headed traitor for two decades while his major life work was that of expertise in French art and architecture. In the ‘50s, Blunt was "the most powerful and influential man in British art history," and was honored with knighthood. When the ring was broken, he was the Fourth Man, leading to the Fifth, John Cairncross and to lesser agents. He was granted immunity in 1964 and ousted in 1979, his worldly honors withdrawn. Blunt died on 3/26/1983, a retired academic in remission from cancer. Link to Wikipedia biography