MJ Long
American architect
Mary Jane Long, Lady Wilson, OBE (July 31, 1939, September 3, 2018), known as MJ Long, was an American architect, lecturer and author, best known for her work as a principal architect partner on the British Library in London with her husband Sir Sandy Wilson. She created a series of purpose-built studios for the artists Peter Blake, RB Kitaj, Paul Huxley and Frank Auerbach, later documenting these in a book. In partnership with Rolfe Kentish as the practice Long & Kentish, she focused on designing museums, libraries and galleries, including the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, the Jewish Museum London in Camden Town and an extension to Pallant House Gallery. With Wilson, she also co-designed Spring House/Cornford House (1965) in Cambridge, for Christopher Cornford.
01Early life and education
Long was born in Summit, New Jersey. She moved to Montreal, where she attended Westmount High School, graduating first in class in 1956. She studied at Smith College before enrolling on a four-year architecture course at Yale School of Architecture, studying under Paul Rudolph.
02Notable works
MJ Long was commissioned by RIBA to design the National Maritime Museum, Cornwall.
03Personal life
It was at Yale that she met Colin St John Wilson (Sandy), and in 1965 joined his newly formed architecture practice in London. The couple married in 1972. She had two children.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “MJ Long”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- British Library, bust of Mary Jane Long.jpg by AndyScott, CC0
- The British Library - geograph.org.uk - 2228127.jpg by N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0
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