FLORENCE:
A PORTRAIT
By Michael Levey


A short biography of the author (courtesy of Random House UK)

Sir Michael Levey was born in 1927 and educated at the Oratory School and Oxford, as well as in the Army. He joined the staff of the National Gallery in 1951 and retired in 1986, having served as Director since 1973. His childhood ambitions were to be a painter and a writer. He has published three novels and written The Life and Death of Mozart, a biography. His other books include Early Renaissance (awarded the Hawthornden Prize), The World of Ottoman Art, The Case of Walter Pater and Giambattista Tiepolo (awarded the Banister Fletcher Prize). He is married to Brigid Brophy, and they have a daughter and three grandchildren.