NYU Administrator Picked as Director For Italian Center

Craig M. Smyth, director of New York University's Institute of Fine Arts, will become the new director of Villa I Tatti, the Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies located near Florence, Italy.

Sydney J. Freedberg, chairman of the Fine Arts Department, said last week that Smyth is one of the foremost experts on Italian Renaissance art. "I've always admired him," Freedberg commented.

A rivalry has existed for many years between the Fine Arts departments at Harvard and NYU, Freedberg noted. He added that the rivalry began during World War II, when many arts scholars who had fled to the United States from Germany, found positions at NYU.

'Pried Him Away'

Smyth was very loyal to NYU, Freeberg noted, and, "It was only this particular offer that pried him away."

Villa I Tatti was bequeathed to Harvard in 1959. It supports its own fellows and visiting scholars and contains a large library and photograph collection.

James S. Ackerman, professor of Fine Arts, said last week that the appointment of Smyth will be important to the Fine Arts Department in its competition with NYU to be "number one."

"He [Smyth] is the outstanding administrator in our field," Ackerman noted.

Smyth was unavailable for comment on his appointment.