Fiske Kimball Culmination and Legacy

Obituaries

Fiske Kimball's resignation from the Philadelphia Museum of Art became public knowledge on January 25th, 1955. Ill health and a commitment to pursuing his writing and research were purportedly his reasons for retiring. On March 3rd, 1955 Marie Kimball suffered a severe heart attack and died while in Philadelphia; Fiske's death followed only five months later, on August 14th, while travelling in Europe. Initially buried at Shack Mountain, Marie Kimball was later moved to join Fiske at the Monticello Memorial Park east of Charlottesville. Eulogized in newsprint across the east coast, Kimball was remembered with great fondness by many colleagues. and friends.

A number of indivduals who knew Fiske Kimball were interviewed in 1995 and their comments also reflect a man of sterling qualities. He is described with terms like "sweet and gentle," "charming," "very bright and imaginative," "great candor," "had a streak of kindness," "very supportive of young people." Colleagues such as art historian and critic John Canady also fondly remembered Kimball in "For the Record."

	Ink sketch of Fiske Kimball by Frederick D. Nichols dated 1959. Nichols, a faculty member of the School of Architecture from 1950 until retiring in the 1980s, knew Kimball through professional circles. Sketch courtesy of Special Collections, Alderman Library, University of Virginia.
	Monticello Memorial Park, Charlottesville, Virginia, courtesy of Jack Robertson
	Obituaries, 1955