Melvin R. Seiden, I Tatti Council member, dies at 80

I Tatti Council founding member Melvin R. Seiden died suddenly on Jan. 14. Council chairman from 1984 until 1989, Seiden was an integral member and an untiring supporter of the I Tatti family, and was honorary curator of visual arts in the Harvard College Library.

Seiden was educated at Harvard University (A.B. ’52, LL.B. ’55) where he was inspired by the life of Paul J. Sachs, who became associate director of the Fogg Art Museum after a successful career at Goldman Sachs. With his unflagging enthusiasm for education in the arts and humanities and his extraordinary generosity, Seiden established many funds at I Tatti: in the library in honor of people he admired, for preservation of the property, for conservation of the Berenson Art Collection and Fototeca, and for scholarly programs and publications.