[5] As an undergraduate, Fremantle travelled to Italy, and while in Florence visited the Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine to see the frescoes of the Tuscan painter Masaccio (1401-1428), which left a memorable impression on him.
For his postgraduate degree at Columbia University he investigated the relationship between the heads in Masaccio’s The Tribute Money and those of Classical sculpture.
He divided his life between Scotland, where he restored an abandoned property, and Italy, where he lived in Florence in a twelfth-century tower overlooking Piazza di San Pier Maggiore.
His days were spent doing research in the library and photo archives of The Harvard University Center for Renaissance Studies at Villa I Tatti.
As part of his studies on Masaccio, Fremantle explored the painting that preceded the Italian Renaissance in Florence, and having discovered that few books existed on the subject, he spent seven years researching this field.
[citation needed] During his Tuscan years, Fremantle associated with many artists who were studying or working in Florence and Tuscany: in particular, Harry Jackson, Maria Gamundì, Laura Ziegler, Ben Long, Don Campbell, Rosenclaire, and Daniel De' Angeli.
Fremantle was one of the few people permitted to photograph the renowned Florentine drawing and painting atelier of Nerina Simi (1890-1987), and his series of photos are a precious record of her and of the interior of her 19th-century studio.
The Foundation's collection of work by more than 170 artists from more than 30 countries, and of books by foreigners, is on display at The Museum of Creativity, in a large stone farmhouse on the grounds of Villa Peyron near Fiesole.