Historian of French and Italian art; Warburg Institute professor; director of the Courtauld Institute; Soviet spy. Blunt was born to minor privilege, his father, Arthur Stanley Vaughan Blunt (1870-1929), the chaplain to the British Embassy in Paris. His mother was Hilda Master Blunt (1880-1969). From early on, he gained an appreciation for French art and architecture. Like his brothers would, Blunt received a scholarship to Marlborough College. His first position, upon graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1930, was as art critic for the (London) Spectator.