Obituary: Peter J. Fergusson (1934 - 2022)

Peter J. Fergusson died on January 24, 2022, after a long battle with cancer. His death follows soon after his beloved wife, Lilian Armstrong.

Arriving in the US from his native England in 1952, Peter went on to receive degrees from Michigan State University (B.A.) and an M.A. and PhD from Harvard. He was the Feldberg Professor of Art History at Wellesley College from 1966 to 2007, and an internationally-recognized scholar of medieval architecture. The Architecture of Solitude (1984) on Cistercian monastic architecture was honored by the College Art Association with the Morey Book Award. His next book, Rievaulx Abbey (1999), written with Stuart Harrison, was awarded the Hitchcock prize by the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. As an emeritus professor, he wrote Canterbury Cathedral Priory in the Age of Beckett (2011).

Over forty years of teaching, his courses on "Castles and Cathedrals," and "Landscape and Garden Architecture" were legendary. He was known for inspiring and encouraging students and other scholars. Among his former students was one of his hospice caregivers.

Peter was also an avid historian of the Wellesley College campus and a passionate advocate for its preservation and renewal. With James O'Gorman and John Rhodes, he authored The Landscape and Architecture of Wellesley College (2000) He was one of the earliest members of Save Venice and a close colleague and friend of John and Betty McAndrew, the founders of Save Venice. He also served twice as Chapter Chair in Boston (1981-86, 1999-2001), and was recently elected as an Honorary Director by the Save Venice Board in New York. For his services to Venice, he was awarded the Cavaliere dell'Ordine de Merito della Repubblica Italiana, the equivalent of a knighthood, in 1988.

Peter Fergusson had a unique philosophy about publishing academic papers which he called the "fertilizer theory of history." If a paper prompted a reader to do further work on the subject and publish more, even if a rebuttal, then it acted as fertilizer to the process of adding to human knowledge. In the same vein, he was an avid enthusiast of garden composting and put it into practice in the garden of their house in Wellesley.

Peter will be remembered for his generous spirit, his wit, caring presence and the ease with which he made others feel welcome, respected and understood. He was recently predeceased by his wife, Lilian Armstrong, and his sister, Ruth Fergusson. He is survived by a brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Robert and Sandra Armstrong; nieces, Jill and Heather Armstrong; and cousins, Michael Leach and Susan Trinder. A Funeral is planned at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Wellesley, on Saturday, February 5, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Armstrong Art History Fund, at Wellesley College. George F. Doherty & Sons Wellesley 781 235 4100

Professor Fergusson joined SAH in 1982.