Archibald L. Gillies ’56

Arch died Feb. 15, 2026.

He came to Princeton from the Choate School, where he was president of the senior class and captain of the basketball team. At Princeton, Arch majored in English and religion, joined Ivy Club, and served as club president as well as our class vice president when he pushed for a fairer bicker process.

After two years in the Army, Arch worked for Nelson Rockefeller’s International Basic Economy Corporation as well as his 1968 presidential campaign. During the 1970s, Arch was president of the John Hay Whitney Foundation and involved in New York City civic affairs as a candidate and organizer. Arch served as president of the Andy Warhol Foundation advancing the organization’s mission providing support for generations of artists. He also established the Creative Capital Foundation to defend freedom of expression by funding individual artists. As Arch wrote in our 50th-reunion yearbook, “In whatever job I held, I tried to use the power and influence at hand to bring about a more just and equal society.”

Arch and his wife Linda spent their recent years in Islesboro, Maine. He is survived by Linda and their children David, Douglas, Isabel, and Andrew; and eight grandchildren.