Mark Gordon Smith
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The ever-changing story of art history
Mark Gordon Smith has traveled to Florence for over forty years. His passion for, and interest in, Renaissance art includes teaching classes on the subject at various universities in the United States. When he became aware of the restoration of Plautilla Nelli’s Last Supper, he made the decision to give a sizeable donation to the Advancing Women Artists to help them achieve their financial goal for that restoration. The donation was made in memory of his mother, Helen Dehnke Smith, who lived in Italy when Mark was a child. She died of cancer in 1971, never having been able to return to her beloved Italy.
Mark shares his passion for the AWA with these words: “The true and accurate attribution of art is critical to the ever-changing story of art history. The work of AWA in correcting the misattribution of art is critical to revising that history. For far too long, female artists have been cast aside, their work incorrectly attributed to male artists. I champion the work of the AWA and will continue to be a vocal and active supporter of their important work.” Mark has lead over seventy small group tours across Italy since founding his company, Private Italy Tours LTD, in 2003. He is the author of several travel memoires about Italy and is currently working on a novel that weaves the worlds of Medici Florence with the world of art. Over 195,000 readers have enjoyed his Italy travel and art history blog, travelsacrossitaly.com.
Mark Gordon Smith has traveled to Florence for over forty years. His passion for, and interest in, Renaissance art includes teaching classes on the subject at various universities in the United States. When he became aware of the restoration of Plautilla Nelli’s Last Supper, he made the decision to give a sizeable donation to the Advancing Women Artists to help them achieve their financial goal for that restoration. The donation was made in memory of his mother, Helen Dehnke Smith, who lived in Italy when Mark was a child. She died of cancer in 1971, never having been able to return to her beloved Italy.
Mark shares his passion for the AWA with these words: “The true and accurate attribution of art is critical to the ever-changing story of art history. The work of AWA in correcting the misattribution of art is critical to revising that history. For far too long, female artists have been cast aside, their work incorrectly attributed to male artists. I champion the work of the AWA and will continue to be a vocal and active supporter of their important work.” Mark has lead over seventy small group tours across Italy since founding his company, Private Italy Tours LTD, in 2003. He is the author of several travel memoires about Italy and is currently working on a novel that weaves the worlds of Medici Florence with the world of art. Over 195,000 readers have enjoyed his Italy travel and art history blog, travelsacrossitaly.com.
