Biography

Kathleen Weil-Garris Brandt was born on April 7, 1934 in Cheam, Surrey, England UK.

Professor at the Institute of Fine Arts of New York specializing in Italian Renaissance art and culture. She earned her Ph.D. in 1965 from Harvard. Her honors include being named International Woman of the Year and the NYU Golden Dozen Award for Distinguished Teaching, both in 1993. Brandt is famous for having identified a marble statue of Cupid, known sometimes as the "Manhattan Cupid" -- which in 1996 she saw in the lobby of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in New York -- as having been sculpted by Michelangelo himself. The identification has not been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt, but the art world generally supports Professor Brandt's conclusion. This marble statue of Cupid is also known as the "Michelangelo of Manhattan," his only statue in the United States.