Anthony Blunt

About

Best remembered for his secret career as a spy for the Soviet Union, this English art historian, University of London professor, and director of London's Courtauld Institute of Art was a member of the infamous "Cambridge Five" espionage group.

Before Fame

He studied mathematics and languages at Trinity College, Cambridge, and subsequently became a teacher of French language and art history.

Trivia

He stated that fellow English-born Soviet spy Guy Burgess invited him to work for the Soviet Union's People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD).

Family Life

He grew up in Hampshire, England, as one of three sons born to Hilda Violet Blunt and minister Stanley Vaughan Blunt. His brother Wilfrid Jasper Walter Blunt also had a career as an art historian.

Associated With

He and Irish poet Louis MacNeice attended England's Marlborough College at the same time. MacNeice later referenced Blunt in a memoir titled The Strings are False.