Miranda Carter – Payot, 2006
Sir Anthony Blunt (1907-1983), one of the greatest art historians of the 20th century, an inspector for the queen’s paintings and an expert on Poussin and Italian Baroque, was a spy working for Moscow. Under suspicion from the English since 1951, he discreetly confessed in 1964 in exchange for immunity. This was England’s best kept secret until 1979, and Blunt was never imprisoned or exiled. After all, was he not still considered a perfect gentleman among other gentlemen?