McKendree Long (1888 — 1976) was an American minister and painter.

Life edit

Educated at Horner Military Academy in Oxford and at Davidson College, he went on to attend classes at the Art Students League in New York.[1] Upon winning a scholarship for study in Europe, he travelled there, learning an academic style of portrait painting. He returned to the United States, working as a professional portraitist in New York City and North Carolina. Long went on to serve in World War I, and abandoned his artistic career afterwards, being ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1922, becoming an evangelist in the southern U.S.[2] In his seventies, Reverend Long began painting again, in a far more surrealistic fashion that widely differed from the style of his previous portraiture.

Grandson Ben Long (1945- ) is also an alumnus of the Art Students League in New York. Ben Long has gained substantial international notoriety, particularly for his drawings and fresco work.[3]

Archival collections edit

The Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has McKendree Robbins Long's Papers, including written and printed materials; original drawings, sketches, and illustrations; a folder of photographs; and seven sermons recorded on Duodisc electric transcription discs. Long embellished a portion of his handwritten work with imaginative illustrations and/or illumination, making this collection, and Long, particularly unique.

References edit

  1. ^ Johnson, Ken (January 16, 2004). "ART IN REVIEW; McKendree Robbins Long -- 'Salvation and Smothered Passions'". The New York Times. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  2. ^ Crowther, Hal; Smith, Lee (Spring 2004). ""All Wrought Up": The Apocalyptic South of McKendree Robbins Long". Southern Cultures. Retrieved December 29, 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Bell, Adam (September 23, 2015). "New fresco by Ben Long comes to Wingate University museum". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved December 29, 2018.

External links edit