Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway, an internationally distinguished scholar of Greek sculpture and the art, architecture, and archaeology of Greece and Italy, died at the age of 94 on Saturday, October 19, 2024 in Haverford, Pennsylvania. She spent almost her entire career on the faculty at Bryn Mawr College where she was the Rhys Carpenter Professor. She was an award-winning, legendary teacher of scores of undergraduate and graduate students over her long tenure.
Born in Italy she grew up in Ethiopia and Eretria during World War II. After the war in 1953 she received her Laurea in classics at the University of Messina, followed in 1954 while a Fulbright Foreign Scholar by an M.A. from Bryn Mawr College. Studying under Rhys Carpenter, Bruni completed her Ph.D. on Archaic sculpture in 1958 after participating in the regular program of the ASCSA and carrying forward doctoral research from 1955-1957, at which time she also excavated at Phaistos under Doro Levi.
Immediately she began teaching at Bryn Mawr as an instructor but left in 1960 to take a position in the Department of Classics at Hollins College. In 1961 she returned to Bryn Mawr as assistant professor and quickly rose through the ranks to full professor in 1970. She was chair of the department from 1983 to 1991 and retired in 1993. In between she was a distinguished visiting professor at numerous academic institutions in the US, Canada, Great Britain, Denmark, and Australia, a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, holder of honorary doctorates from Georgetown University and Union College, a recipient of grants from the American Philosophical Society, the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Guggenheim Foundation, and a Kress Senior Fellowship at CASVA of the National Gallery of Art. She was the Sather Professor at the University of California at Berkeley and the Jerome Lecturer at the University of Michigan and the American Academy in Rome. She received the Gold Medal of the Archaeological Institute of America in 1988 and was the first female Silver medalist of the Felix Neubergh Lectureship at Gothenburg University, Sweden. In 1989 she was the National Gold Medalist of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and the Pennsylvania Professor of the Year. Bruni was a lifetime member of the AIA, a Corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute, an honorary member of the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, and an elected member of the American Philosophical Society.
As a member of the ASCSA Bruni was a wildly popular leader of Summer Sessions in 1967 and 1971. In 1998 she was the Elizabeth Whitehead Visiting Professor. Between 1977 and 1985 she was Editor of the American Journal of Archaeology. She served in many capacities nationally and internationally as a reviewer and consultant to academic presses and journals, grant-giving agencies, universities and humanities research institutions.
Bruni made her mark with her series of systematic critical observations about Greek sculpture that covered the field in her book-length examinations of Archaic, Severe, Fifth century styles, a trilogy on Hellenistic sculpture, and a critical examination of Roman copies. Her interest was in style but equally in context, notably the important role of sculpture in architecture with strong attention always to Sicily and southern Italy.
Like Rhys Carpenter, she professed to her students and readers the importance of relying on one’s eyes through careful autopsy of the original and a relentless interrogation of received opinion. Thus, she demanded much from her students while being a caring advisor to them – 20 undergraduate candidates for honors, and 41 candidates for the Masters and at least 36 Ph.D.s. Once under her tutelage, she did not rest easy until she had seen each student through to the end. And then she was their strongest advocate, writing letters of recommendation, cajoling colleagues with her ever-ready reasons as to why they were worthy of her promotion, and continuing to mentor them in their careers. Her ability to make diligence, intellectual curiosity, and rigor tangibly rewarding contributed greatly to her accomplishments as teacher and mentor - an impact that is now patent in multiple generations of her students’ scholarship.
Anyone who had contact with her warmed to her vivacious personality, her evident sympathy, her quick intelligence, boundless energy, vast store of knowledge, sharp attention, and acumen. When she turned 90 students, friends and colleagues celebrated her at Bryn Mawr College with many recollections and tributes online. She is not replaceable and will be sorely missed.
Bruni is survived by her husband of 65 years, Pete Ridgway, and by her sons Conrad, Kevin, Eric, and Christopher and two grandchildren.
A memorial service will be announced later.
This notice was written by Pamela Webb and James Wright.