Arturo Schwarz

Arturo Schwarz

Arturo Umberto Samuele Schwarz (b. 1924, Alexandria, Egypt) son of a German father and an Italian mother, is an Italian scholar, art historian, poet, writer, lecturer, art consultant and curator of international art exhibitions. He lives in Milan, where he has amassed a large collection of Dada and Surrealist art, including many works by personal friends such as Marcel Duchamp, André Breton, Man Ray, and Jean Arp.

In 2006 he won Italy's Premio Frascati for his collected works of poetry (1946-2007). In his 1977 book on Man Ray's works and life, he was the first to reveal Ray's real name (Emmanuel Radnitzky).

Schwarz is also known for his writings about Marcel Duchamp, Surrealists and Dada, as well as books and numerous essays on the Kabbalah, Tantrism, alchemy, prehistoric and tribal art, and Asian art and philosophy.

In late 1990s he donated his 700-piece collection of Dada and Surrealist art to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

On 6 March 1998 he was awarded the "Diploma of First Class with gold medal for outstanding merits in the fields of culture and the arts" by the President of Italian Republic Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, on the recommendation of the Minister of Cultural Heritage Walter Veltroni.

In October 2009 Schwarz curated an exhibition of Dada and Surrealism, "Dada e surrealismo riscoperti" (Dada And Surrealism Rediscovered), at the Vittoriano Museum Complex in Rome, with over 500 works and a catalogue essay written by Schwarz.