Judith Colton

Professor of the History of Art

Judith Colton, B.A. Smith College, Ph.D. New York University, faculty member at Yale since 1973: your passion for seventeenth—and eighteenth-century art in Italy and France has inspired many Yale undergraduates and graduate students over the past thirty-three years.  Yet even while extolling the virtues of courtly painting and sculpture, you also revealed the beauty of the period’s gardens and landscapes.  Your deep knowledge of the Baroque in Europe allowed you to animate an overlooked period, interweaving strands of political intrigue, courtly aspirations, emulative fashion, and human foibles to make the architecture, painting, and sculpture more accessible. Your book on the French Parnassus in the reign of Louis XIV is one of the most recognized contributions on Titon du Tillet’s great monument, and your book with George Hersey on Neapolitan painting, as well as your articles in these same areas, have made lasting contributions to their fields.

In addition to all of your scholarly activity, you have also made an unwavering commitment to the Yale community. You have served effectively on nearly every committee at Yale, participated fully in the scholarly activities of the Yale Center for British Art, been an active Fellow of Branford College, and served the Department of the History of Art in official capacities as both DUS and DGS and in an unofficial capacity as the departmental conscience, and historical memory, able to recall past decisions and the rationales for them.  Your interest in working with people is also evident in your caring mentorship of undergraduates and supportive direction of graduate students whose PhD dissertations on seventeenth—and eighteenth-century art you directed. A champion of beauty, and a voice of compassion, your colleagues celebrate your many contributions to Yale, and look forward to having you nearby for many years to come.

Tribute Editor: Penelope Laurans