Delphine Fitz Darby
American art historian
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Delphine Fitz Darby (January 10, 1902 – November 14, 1995) was an American art historian and writer. She was a professor at Smith College and at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research concerned Spanish Baroque painter Francesc Ribalta and his student, Jusepe de Ribera.
Delphine Fitz Darby | |
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| Born | January 10, 1902 Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | November 14, 1995 (aged 93) Highlands County, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupations | Art historian, professor, writer |
Early life and education
Fitz was born in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Charles W. Fitz and Elsie Rimmer Long Fitz.[1] She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1923,[2] earned a master's degree there in 1925, and completed doctoral studies there in 1929.[3][4] She was the only doctoral student of medievalist Georgiana Goddard King,[5] and won a Carnegie Fellowship to do research in Spain.[6]
Career
Darby was an assistant professor of art at Smith College from 1930 to 1931.[3][7] She also taught at the University of Maryland, College Park.[8] Her scholarship concerned Spanish painter Francesc Ribalta, and his student, Jusepe de Ribera.[9] During World War II, she defended the exhibition of Italian art at the National Gallery.[10]
Publications
- Francisco Ribalta and His School (1938)[11]
- "In the Train of a Vagrant Silenus" (1943)[12]
- "The Wise Man with a Looking Glass" (1948)[13]
- "Ribera and the Blind Men" (1957)[14]
- "The Ecstasy of St. Francis, a newly acquired painting by Francisco Ribalta" (1957)[15]
- "Ribera and the Wise Men" (1962)[16]
- Juan Sariñena y sus colegas (1967)[17]
- The Gentle Ribera: Painter of the Madonna and the Holy Family (1978)[18]
Personal life and legacy
Fitz married Navy commander and college professor George O'Dell Switzer Darby in 1928.[19] Her husband died in 1981,[20] and she died in 1995, at the age of 93, in Highlands County, Florida.[21] There is an endowed fund at Bryn Mawr College, named for Darby and designated for the purchase of art history materials.[22] Her photo albums of Pennsylvania landscapes are in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.[23]