Margaret Longhurst (5 August 1882 – 26 January 1958) was a British museum curator. She was an expert in Italian sculpture and ivories at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

(V&A). She was the first woman to be a keeper in a major British museum.

Life

Longhurst was born in

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It grew up around Chertsey Abbey, founded in AD 666 by Earconwald, St Erkenwald, and gained a municipal charter, market charter from Henry I of Engla ...

in 1882. Her parents were Caroline Louisa (born Taylor) and William Longhurst. Her father was a successful draper and she was given a private informal education. When her father died in 1895 he left over £40,000 and her inheritance could have funded the substantial European travel she undertook. She devoted her time to learn about medieval sculpture and she used her scholarship to write articles for the

Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation si ...

. In 1926, 27 and 1929 she published her work on ivories: ''English Ivories'' in 1926, ''Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory'' part one in 1927 and the second part in 1929. Three years later she published the two volume ''Catalogue of Italian Sculpture'' which she had co-written with

Eric Maclagan Sir Eric Robert Dalrymple Maclagan (4 December 1879 – 14 September 1951) was a British museum director and art historian. Early years Born on 4 December 1879 in London, Maclagan was the only son of William Dalrymple Maclagan, Archbishop of Y ...

. In 1931 the V&A purchased part of the

Easby Cross The Easby Cross is an Anglo-Saxon sandstone standing cross from 800–820, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. It originally came from Easby near Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, where a plaster replica ...

V&A Museum
A.88–1930 – fragment with ''Christ in Majesty''. and Longhurst published a description of this important sculpture in the journal Archaeologia which was published by the Society of Antiquaries. (Longhurst had become a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries two years before). In 1941 she was on the council of the Society of Antiquaries having become a keeper at the V&A in 1938. She was the first woman to hold this position in major British museum. She had worked all her career in the department of architecture and sculpture until she retired on 27 August 1942.

Death and legacy

Longhurst died in her "Wayside" home in Castle Street in

Aldbourne Aldbourne ( ) is a village and civil parish about north-east of Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It is in a valley on the south slope of the Lambourn Downs – part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. From here an u ...

. She was remembered as a private, stern and pleasant character in the village. She features in that village's heritage centre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longhurst, Margaret 1882 births 1958 deaths People from Chertsey British art historians People associated with the Victoria and Albert Museum