In Memoriam: Richard W. Wallace

Richard W. Wallace, professor emeritus of art, a specialist in the history of Italian Baroque art, passed away in July 2025. Professor Wallace earned his B.A. at Williams and his M.A. and Ph.D. at Princeton. He joined the Wellesley faculty in 1964—following a two-year stint as a Fulbright Fellow in Italy—and retired in 2004. Professor Wallace was an expert on Italian works on paper, particularly the artist Salvator Rosa; his many publications included the catalogue for the 1989 exhibition Italian Etchers of the Renaissance and Baroque, which he co-curated, held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Cleveland Museum of Art. He loved all things Italian and shared his knowledge through his classes and study trips with generations of Wellesley students and alumnae. He was awarded a Pinanski Prize in 1987 and was made an honorary member of the Alumnae Association when he retired. Alums will remember his dynamic lectures, which often began with period music playing to set the mood as students filtered into the classroom. Professor Wallace was also an enthusiastic fisherman and conservationist, and he helped to establish the Eastham Conservation Foundation on Cape Cod.