Marco R. Grassi ’56

Marco died March 30, 2025, in New York City. 

Born in Florence, Italy, he came to Princeton from the Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., where he was editor of the school paper and the yearbook. He joined Cap and Gown, majored in art and archaeology, and served as a dining hall captain. Marco wrote his thesis on “Architectural Backgrounds in Early Renaissance Painting,” which reflected his family’s history in art restoration and led to his illustrious career as a critic and restorer of the art of late medieval and early Renaissance Tuscany, first in a private collection in Switzerland for 20 years and in the 1970s from his studios in Manhattan. 

In 2021, he published In The Kitchen of Art, which Marco described as “that murky backstage frequented by scholars, technicians, and craftsmen where the pulleys, gears, curtains, and props of the art world are manipulated.” Marco advised the Metropolitan Museum of Art on several of its most pricey acquisitions. One of his proudest accomplishments was his work in Florence in 1966 restoring Giorgio Vasari’s immense “Last Supper” (1546) after it was flooded. 
Marco is survived by his artist wife, Cristina; their children Matteo and Irene; and four grandchildren.