Orville Joseph Rothrock *87
On Aug. 10, 2023, Joe died at his home in Albuquerque, N.M., at age 92.
Born in Monticello, Ind., April 13, 1931, Joe grew up in Arlington, Va. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 1953 and a Ph.D. in art and archaeology from Princeton in 1987.
After graduating from Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., in January 1954, Joe served until 1958 in the Korean War with the Seventh Fleet, a North Atlantic patrol, and as a communications liaison officer with Project Vanguard at the time the USSR launched Sputnik.
Joe came to Princeton to teach in 1961, and in 1966 he became curator of the Graphic Arts Collection at the University Library. While occupying that position, he developed interests that developed into the subject of his doctoral dissertation, “Jacques Callot and Court Theatre (1608–1619).” In 1978, Joe joined the art history faculty of the University of New Mexico, where he specialized in the history of graphic arts and photography until his retirement in 1998. He then became a writer of poetry and completed two books of poetry.
Joe is survived by his three children, Emily, Sarah, and Ian; and four grandchildren.
Graduate alumni memorials are prepared by the APGA.
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