In Memory of Anton Kris, MD

Abstract

Anton “Tony” Kris was on the Editorial Board of the Psychoanalytic Study of the Child from 1984 until his death in 2021. Although not a child psychoanalyst himself, his interest in children and adolescence was immense, perhaps due to his upbringing in Vienna and to the influence of his parents Marianne and Ernst Kris. He liked to joke about having been on Freud’s couch himself, as his mother was pregnant with him during her analysis with Freud. His father was a founding editor of this Annual in 1945, and his mother stepped into his role following his death in 1957. Tony’s knowledge about the theory and technique of psychoanalysis, as well as its history, and his warmth and sharp intellect were matched by the major contributions he made to the field. He was a regular contributor to these pages for more than four decades. In his 1981 paper, “On giving advice to parents in analysis” (PSC 36: 151– 162), he took the position that analysts of adult patients who are parents should at times temporarily address the well-being of their child directly, when failure to do so “would be a breach of trust.” Tony will be deeply missed. THE PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDY OF THE CHILD 2023, VOL. 76, NO. 1, 4 https://doi.org/10.1080/00797308.2023.2166770