One of our members, art historian and curator Mary Kisler gave a fascinating talk for our October 11 Zoom branch meeting.

Mary talked about the Villa I Tatti in Florence. For almost 60 years Villa I Tatti was the home of Bernard Berenson, a noted connoisseur who funded, led and guided scholarship and the collecting of art. The Villa is now owned by Harvard University’s Center for Italian Renaissance Studies where it continues to lead art scholarship.

Mary led us through the lives of the people, the landscape, the buildings and some of the art, including her determining the provenance of a Madonna and Child painting.

Among the many takeaways from Mary’s excellent presentation was the importance of patronage and volunteers, from those who fund and encourage art and its history, and those who volunteer, especially the “mud angels” who came to help rescue material damaged by the 1966 flood in Florence.

All members will receive an emailed link to the Zoom session.