Agnes von Kurowsky

Agnes Hannah von Kurowsky Stanfield (January 5, 1892 – November 25, 1984) was an American nurse who inspired the character "Catherine Barkley" in Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms.

Kurowsky served as a nurse in an American Red Cross hospital in Milan during World War I. One of her patients was the 19-year-old Hemingway, who fell in love with her. Their story is shown in the 1996 film In Love and War where she is portrayed by Sandra Bullock.

Hemingway used his experiences in Italy as the basis for ten short stories. Fictionalized characters based on Kurowsky appear in his short stories "A Very Short Story" (1924) and "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" (1936), as well as his novel A Farewell to Arms.

Early life Agnes von Kurowsky Stanfield was born on January 5, 1892, in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her parents met while her German-born father Paul von Kurowsky was teaching languages at the Berlitz school in Washington, D.C., her body was buried in the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. She was honored for "her gallant and commendable services" with the American Red Cross during World War I.