The MIT Department of Architecture mourns the passing of former faculty member Whitney Chadwick, who died on August 6, 2026.
Chadwick was an accomplished academic and influential art historian focusing on women artists. Her professional teaching career began at the MIT in 1972, as a lecturer, then assistant professor (1973 – 1977) and, finally, associate professor in 1978. She also taught at the University of California (Berkeley), San Francisco State University, Stanford University, Williams College, Harvard University, and the University of Uppsala in Sweden.
Chadwick is survived by her sisters, Linda (and husband William Byrn) of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Sara, of Middletown, Rhode Island, and her late husband’s children, Anne (and Kevin) Higgins of Sacramento and Max Bechtle and his wife Kara of Sonora. She also leaves four beloved grandchildren: Brendan, Aidan and Declan Higgins, and Allison Bechtle.
Read more of her obituary at the bottom of this page presented by the San Francisco State University: https://campusmemo.sfsu.edu/2026/August-24-2026
