The MJ Long Acquisition | Pallant House Gallery

Fulfilling the wishes of Colin St. John Wilson and MJ Long, this acquisition reunites their significant collections and secures it for posterity as an entity for public benefit. It creates one of the country’s largest and most important collections of British Pop Art, allowing Pallant House Gallery to explore the full breadth of Modern British art.

The MJ Long acquisition adds 175 varied works to the Pallant House Gallery collection through the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, bringing together an exceptional collection of British Pop and figurative art.

It is one of the gallery’s most important single acquisitions in the last 15 years and includes art from notable figures in Modern British art including Michael Andrews, Frank Auerbach, David Bomberg, Anthony Caro, Patrick Caulfield, Prunella Clough, Richard Hamilton, David Hockney, Howard Hodgkin, R.B. Kitaj, Eduardo Paolozzi and Colin Self.

The acquisition won the Apollo Magazine Acquisition Award 2021.

Selected works

Man's head with blue turban by Michael Andrews

Reclining figure in studio, Frank Auerbach

A still life arrangement of a red jug surrounded by a red, grey and yellow goblet and teal coloured bowl against a blue background.

A decorative German stein lager jug with the outline of a white wall and gabled roof behind it, against a teal coloured background.

David Hockney print with figure standing on the shoulders of a cloaked figure

Painting in creams and browns with circles and triangles in different shades

Painting by Howard Hodgkin depicting geometric abstract, solid black outlines on inside edges. pink arc shapes top left & top right. red spots on yellow ground at centre; green dots on red around outside edge.

Painting by R. B. Kitaj depicting a red room with geometric shapes in an abstract suggestion of an interior. A man wearing a blue jcaket and glasses sits at a table and a woman stands next to him. A small boy and girl stand in the background

A black and white etching of Manet's famous painting Olympia. A naked, white sex worker reclines on cushions while staring out at the viewer. A black servant to the right is proffering a large bouquet of flowers. There is also a small black cat at the end of the bed.

Sculpture of a blue creature with horns and wings and red hooves with one leg standing on gold skull

An abstract aluminium sculpture with a large curcle connected with plinths and pipes.

Woman's head with lolly and a rocket to one side by Colin Self

The Wilson Collection

The Wilson Collection has been presented as one entity at Pallant House Gallery, but was made up of the Wilson Gift through the Art Fund containing 400 works and the Wilson Loan of 300 items.

The MJ Long acquisition includes 175 items from the ‘Wilson Loan’ and fulfils the wish of architects Sandy Wilson and M.J. Long, that one day their collection might be permanently secured together for posterity as an entity for public benefit.

The collection was created by the American architect MJ Long OBE and her husband, British architect Sir Colin St John Wilson. They are known as the architects of the British Library and our own extension (2006) and together built one of the most significant collections of post war British art.

Many of the artists in the collection, such as R.B. Kitaj, Richard Hamilton and Eduardo Paolozzi, were personal friends of the couple with their approach to artistic patronage spanning the connections between art, architecture, literature and philosophy.

We are delighted that this astonishing collection now has a permanent home at the gallery.