Olga Raggio (5 February 1926 – 24 January 2009) was an art historian and curator who worked with the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

for over 60 years, and discovered the 'lost' bust of

Cosimo I de' Medici Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second and last duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Cosimo I succeeded his cousin to the duchy. ...

by Bartolommeo Bandinelli.

Early life

Olga Raggio was born in Rome on 5 February 1926. Her father was Italian, while her mother was Russian. Raggio graduated from the

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library (, ), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City, and is the city-state's national library. It was formally established in 1475, alth ...

with a diploma in library science in 1947, and obtained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the University of Rome in 1949.

Career

Metropolitan Museum

In 1950, Raggio received a

Fulbright Fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. She also joined the

in New York as a junior research fellow. Raggio's curatorial career climbed steadily, from assistant curator in 1954 to full curator in 1968, and chair of the department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts between 1971 and 2001. Her responsibilities encompassed the entirety of the museum's art collections dating between 1400 and 1900 other than painting or drawing. She was mentioned as a candidate to succeed

Thomas Hoving Thomas Pearsall Field Hoving (January 15, 1931 – December 10, 2009) was an American museum executive and consultant and the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Early life He was born in New York City to Walter Hoving, the head of Tiff ...

as the Metropolitan Museum's director in 1977, but the post went to Philippe de Montebello. Raggio's research concentrated on Renaissance and Baroque sculpture, notably

Alessandro Algardi Alessandro Algardi (July 31, 1598 – June 10, 1654) was an Italian high-Baroque sculptor active almost exclusively in Rome. In the latter decades of his life, he was, along with Francesco Borromini and Pietro da Cortona, one of the major rivals ...

and

Gianlorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...

. Her other contributions include a study, reconstruction and installation in the museum of the Blumenthal Patio from the Spanish castle of Vélez Blanco in 1964; the chapel of Bastie d’Urfé; and the conservation of

Federico da Montefeltro Federico da Montefeltro, also known as Federico III da Montefeltro Order of the Garter, KG (7 June 1422 – 10 September 1482), was one of the most successful mercenary captains (''condottiero, condottieri'') of the Italian Renaissance, and Duk ...

's studiolo (private study) taken from the ducal palace of Gubbio. Her investigations resulted in the rediscovery of two sculptures (''

Priapus In Greek mythology, Priapus (; ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens, and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term priapism. He becam ...

'' and ''

Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

'') by the Berninis, father and son, which were found in the garden of Delbarton School in a Benedictine abbey in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, as well as a bust of Cosimo I de' Medici by Baccio Bandinelli, which had been locked away in a vault in a Swiss bank. Raggio organised some of the museum's most famous exhibitions including ''The Splendour of Dresden'' (1978) and ''The Vatican Collections: The Papacy and Art'' (1983). Raggio retired as Distinguished Research Curator on 31 December 2008.

Academic

In 1964, Raggio became an adjunct faculty at the New York University Institute of Fine Arts. She taught courses informed by her own research interest, notably

, Italian renaissance bronzes and the Studiolo.

Later life

Olga Raggio died of cancer on 24 January 2009, aged 82, in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raggio, Olga 1926 births 2009 deaths American art historians American women art historians New York University faculty 20th-century American women 21st-century American women American women curators American curators