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.
Early life and education Fitz was born in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Charles W. Fitz and Elsie Rimmer Long Fitz.Elsie L. Fitz (death notice), The Philadelphia Inquirer (May 15, 1966): 89; via Newspapers.com. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1923, earned a master's degree there in 1925, and completed doctoral studies there in 1929."New Appointments 1930–1931" Annual Report of the President of Smith College (1930): 61."Savant Lays Moral Revolt to Ancients" The Philadelphia Inquirer (June 6, 1929): 9, via Newspapers.com. She was the only doctoral student of medievalist Georgiana Goddard King, and won a Carnegie Fellowship to do research in Spain. Career Darby was an assistant professor of art at Smith College from 1930 to 1931. She also taught at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her scholarship concerned Spanish painter Francesc Ribalta, and his student, Jusepe de Ribera. During World War II, she defended the exhibition of Italian art at the National Gallery.
Publications Francisco Ribalta and His School (1938) "In the Train of a Vagrant Silenus" (1943)Darby, Delphine Fitz. "In the Train of a Vagrant Silenus." Art in America 31, no. 3 (1943): 140-50. "The Wise Man with a Looking Glass" (1948)Darby, Delphine Fitz. "The wise man with a looking glass." Art in America 36 (1948): 113-26. "Ribera and the Blind Men" (1957) "The Ecstasy of St. Francis, a newly acquired painting by Francisco Ribalta" (1957)Darby, Delphine Fitz. "The Ecstasy of St. Francis, a newly acquired painting by Francisco Ribalta." Bulletin of the Wadsworth atheneum (1957). "Ribera and the Wise Men" (1962) Juan Sariñena y sus colegas (1967)Darby, Delphine Fitz. Juan Sariñena y sus colegas. Vol. 18. Servicio de Estudios Artisticos, Institución Alfonso el Magnanimo, Diputación Provincial de Valencia y Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Valencia, 1967. The Gentle Ribera: Painter of the Madonna and the Holy Family (1978)Darby, Delphine Fitz. The Gentle Ribera: Painter of the Madonna and the Holy Family. J. Claye, 1978.
Personal life and legacy Fitz married Navy commander and college professor George O'Dell Switzer Darby in 1928. Her husband died in 1981, and she died in 1995, at the age of 93, in Highlands County, Florida. There is an endowed fund at Bryn Mawr College, named for Darby and designated for the purchase of art history materials. Her photo albums of Pennsylvania landscapes are in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.Delphine Fitz Darby collection of photograph albums of Pennsylvania views, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
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