Fiske Kimball certificate and diploma, 1909, 1950

Historical/Biographical Note

Historical/Biographical Note

Born Sidney Fiske Kimball on December 8, 1888 in Newton, Massachusetts, Kimball was a renowned American architect, architectural historian, and museum director. He received both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in architecture from Harvard University before eventually receiving a PhD from the University of Michigan in 1915. In 1919, Kimball was appointed the head of the newly formed department of art and architecture at the University of Virginia. He left in 1923 to establish the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University (NYU), an institute dedicated to the study of art history. Starting in 1924, Kimball was appointed as the first University Architect for NYU, a position he held on a part-time basis until his death in 1955. He stayed at NYU until he was appointed director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1925. During his nearly 30-year tenure, he moved the museum into the Main Building and greatly expanded the museum's collections. Kimball was a pioneer in the field of architectural preservation and is known for his role in the restoration of Monticello, the planation home of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the Stratford Hall plantation, Gunston Hall, and Colonial Williamsburg. He died in Munich, Germany, on August 15, 1955.