Gordon, Max, 1931-1990

BIOGHIST REQUIRED Max Gordon was born June 10, 1931 in Cape Town, South Africa. He received his architectural education at the University of Cambridge, the Architectural Association in London, and the graduate School of Design at Harvard University. At Harvard, Gordon studied Urban Design under Professor Jose Luis Sert and graduated with a Master of Architecture degree in 1956.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED Gordon’s professional practice began in New York working for Skidmore, Ownings and Merrill. In 1962, Gordon returned to England as a partner in the London based firm Chapman Taylor Partners. After ten years with Chapman Taylor, Gordon left to become a senior partner at The Louis de Soissons Partnership. He remained with Louis de Soissons until 1981 when the firm relocated its offices outside of London.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED At that time, Gordon established his own practice in London, Max Gordon Associates. After only a few years, Gordon soon became an internationally sought-after designer of and consultant for exhibition spaces and art galleries. At the time of his death, a New York Times obituary described Gordon as “the architect of choice for museums, dealers' galleries and private collectors from Los Angeles, Chicago and New York to London, Madrid, Athens and Helsinki.”

BIOGHIST REQUIRED One of Gordon’s breakthrough commissions was the Saatchi Gallery located at 98a Boundary Road in London. In 1984, Charles and Doris Saatchi approached Gordon about converting a former paint factory into an exhibition gallery for their contemporary art collection. Gordon converted an old industrial factory in St John’s Wood into, as one critic at the time described as, “one of the most blissful spaces of its kind.”

BIOGHIST REQUIRED His most prominent commissions include, among others, Annely Juda Fine Art, Brooke-Alexander Gallery, Paula Cooper Gallery, James Corcoran Gallery, Fisher Landau Center, Koury-Wingate Gallery, Lorence-Monk Gallery, Luhring-Augustine Gallery, Maeght-Lelong Gallery, Marlborough Fine Art Galleries, and gallery space for the Centro d’Arte Reina Sophia. Gordon also did significant residential design work for clients such as artist Richard Serra, Joel Shapiro, and Jennifer Barlett, art collectors Asher Edelman and Lewis Manilow, and musician Brian Ferry. Gordon worked closely with architects Richard Goldsbrough and Richard Gluckman on many of these projects.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED Alongside his work as an architect, Gordon was a member of the trustees' committee on architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art and a member of its international council from 1978 to 1985. In London, he was a founding committee member of the Patrons of New Art at the Tate Gallery and a trustee of the Whitechapel Art Gallery Foundation.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED Max Gordon died on August 24, 1990 in London.