Anthony Blunt
(1907-1983), Art historian and Soviet spyAnthony Frederick Blunt
Sitter in 7 portraits
Whilst studying at Cambridge Blunt was a member of a circle of disaffected young men, led by Guy Burgess, who where recruited by the NKVD. From 1937 he published many scholarly papers and books, becoming a distinguished art historian. During World War II he served in MI5, whilst also supplying information to the Soviets. In 1945 he was appointed surveyor of the king's (later the queen's) pictures, and became director of the Courtauld Institute in 1947. Blunt was confronted by British authorities and confessed his Soviet connections in 1964, but was offered immunity in return for his information. In 1979 his role as a Soviet agent was publicly confirmed, and he was stripped of his knighthood.
by Lord Snowdon
gelatin silver print, 24 October 1963
NPG P1943
Kenneth Clark, Baron Clark; Queen Elizabeth II; Anthony Blunt
by Press Association Photos
vintage print, 19 February 1959
NPG x137496
by Chris Ware, for Keystone Press Agency Ltd
vintage print, 1975
NPG x137497
by Chris Ware, for Keystone Press Agency Ltd
vintage print, 1975
NPG x137498
'Luck and Flaw' (Peter Nigel Fluck; Roger Law with Spitting Image puppets)
by Gil Galvin
digital chromogenic print, 1984
On display in Room 28 on Floor 2 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG x134391
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