fall 2013 / 55
CLASSNOTES
In
Memoriam
Friend
Dr. Virginia Pitts Rembert Liles
,
noted art historian, died on July 5,
2013, in Birmingham at the age of 91.
Liles’ teaching, scholarship
achievements, and leadership in
the arts spanned more than 45
years. She was a member of the
Birmingham-Southern faculty from
1960-73 and was the first woman to
chair the college’s Art Department.
She held many other teaching and
administrative appointments around
the U.S., including Beloit College, the
Massachusetts College of Art, and the
University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Liles earned her bachelor’s degree
from the Alabama College for Women
(now University of Montevallo); an
MFA from Teachers’ College, Columbia
University; a master’s in art history
from the University of Wisconsin; and
a Ph.D. in art history and archeology
from Columbia.
Marilyn Brown ’72
wrote about her
former teacher, “I always remember her
as a combination of awesome erudition
and gracious elegance. She set me on
my life’s course as an art historian. She made me realize that learning is not a chore or exercise, but a rich lifelong
pursuit.”
Liles wrote two books, one on Dutch painter Piet Mondrian and one on Netherlandish painter Hieronymus
Bosch. She was also a regular contributor to
Art News
and
Women’s Art Journal
.
After retirement from college teaching, she lived in New York City from 1991-2006. In 1993, she married artist
Raeford Liles. In 2006, they moved to their native city, Birmingham, where she continued to write and follow her
secondary interests of drawing and painting watercolors.
Class Notes submissions
You can send news of weddings, births, deaths, job changes, career highlights, honors, and
awards directly to Birmingham-Southern through the college’s online alumni community at
Or, you may submit them via email to Pat Cole at
.
