BY RICHARD BLOW (1904-1992), 1960

Richard Blow was the youngest child of a wealthy Illinois naval family, after his college years at Princeon, he studied art in Europe. After serving in World War II, Blow purchased a Florentine villa (Piazza Calda) and reinstated the Florentine art of Pietre Dure which dwindled during the war years, his workshop employed local artisans and he directed and supervised each panel personally. When completed and accepted, each piece was marked with a tiny M stone insert as a Montici signature and signed on the back by Blow.