Peter Kidson
Peter Kidson (23 August 1925 – 10 February 2019) was a British emeritus professor and honorary fellow at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where he lectured on medieval architecture until 1990. In his obituary in The Telegraph, he was described as “the most influential historian of medieval architecture of his generation in the English-speaking world”.
Peter Kidson
- Born
- 1925
- Died
- 2019
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- art historian · architectural historian · architect · university teacher
- Fields
- medieval architecture
- Languages
- English
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Peter Kidson (23 August 1925 – 10 February 2019) was a British emeritus professor and honorary fellow at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where he lectured on medieval architecture until 1990. In his obituary in The Telegraph, he was described as “the most influential historian of medieval architecture of his generation in the English-speaking world”.
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Peter Kidson (1925–2019) was a British architect, architectural historian and art historian, among other activities. The architect was born in York.
Peter Kidson worked for Courtauld Institute of Art and was a member of British Archaeological Association and Society of Antiquaries of London. The architect was active in medieval architecture. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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wikidata · Q19754072 · wikipedia · Peter Kidson
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Honorific Prefix — Professor • Alma Mater — University of Cambridge; The Courtauld Institute of Art • Discipline — History of Art • Sub Discipline — Medieval architecture • Born — 1925
Education
Education
Kidson spent 1943 to 1946 on a scholarship to the University of Cambridge (interrupted by WW2 when he was conscripted into the Royal Navy), and graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. From 1950 to 1959, he studied at the Courtauld (MA and PhD) alongside Brian Sewell; their tutors included Anthony Blunt, on whom Kidson wrote a memoir for The British Academy in 2016.
Career
Career
Kidson taught at the Courtauld, also as a visiting lecturer at Cambridge and the University of East Anglia, and as a visiting professor at the University of Victoria, British Columbia in 1972. He was appointed full lecturer at the Courtauld in 1967, where he remained until his retirement as Professor of Medieval Architecture in 1990.
Contributions
Contributions
Photographs contributed by Peter Kidson to the Conway Library are currently (2020) being digitised by the Courtauld Institute of Art, as part of the Courtauld Connects project.
Writings
Writings
• Sculpture at Chartres, 1958, with photography by Ursula Pariser, published by Alec Tiranti. • A History of English Architecture. Part I, 1962, George G. Harrap. • A History of English Architecture, 1965, revised edition (with Peter Murray, and Paul Thompson), Penguin Books. • The Medieval World, 1967, Paul Hamlyn. • Salisbury Cathedral: Perspectives On The Architectural History, with Thomas Cocke, 1993, HMSO. • Courtauld Institute Illustration Archives: Archive 1: Cathedrals & Monastic Buildings In The British Isles: Part 3 Lincoln: St Hugh's Choir & Transepts, 1977, Harvey Miller.
Books on Peter Kidson
Books on Peter Kidson
• Medieval architecture and its intellectual context: Studies in honour of Peter Kidson, 1990, edd. Eric Fernie and Paul Crossley, Hambledon.
Citations in academic writings
Citations in academic writings
• Geometrical Objects: Architecture and the Mathematical Sciences 1400–1800, 2014, ed. A. Gerbino, Springer.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Peter Kidson”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q19754072: Peter Kidson
General reference · Wikidata
Honours
• 1961 – Elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London • 1977 – Appointed Royal Commissioner • 1985–1987 – Chairman of the Royal Commission's Architectural Committee • 1982 – Rhind Lecturer of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and member of the British Academy Committee for postgraduate awards in the humanities • 1988 – awarded a personal chair by London University Upon retirement Kidson became emeritus professor and Honorary Fellow of the Courtauld Institute of Art.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Professor Peter Kidson obituary. The Times. 18 April 2019. 0140-0460.
- 2.Coldstream, Nicola. Peter Kidson obituary. the Guardian. 2019-03-11.
- 3.Professor Peter Kidson (1925–2019). The Courtauld Institute of Art. 2019-02-12.
- 4.Crossley, Paul. Professor Peter Kidson: 23 August 1925 – 10 February 2019. Journal of the British Archaeological Association. 172. 1. 176–178. 2019-01-01. 0068-1288.
- 5.Kidson, Peter – Mapping Gothic France. mappinggothic.org.
- 6.Obituaries, Telegraph. Peter Kidson, Professor at the Courtauld Institute hailed as 'the most influential historian of medieval architecture of his generation in the English-speaking world' – obituary. The Telegraph. 2019-02-28. 0307-1235.
- 7.Gerbino, Anthony. Geometrical Objects: Architecture and the Mathematical Sciences 1400-1800. Springer. 2014-07-21. 978-3-319-05998-3.
- 8.Who made the Conway Library?. Digital Media. 2020-06-30.
References
Citations
References
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