Bernique Longley (nee Wilderson), painter and sculptress, was born in Molina, Illinois, but was raised by her parents Ellie and Effie Wilderson, in Chicago. While still a young girl, she attended scholarship classes for four years at the Art Institute of Chicago, and continued there for four additional years, being graduated with a Bryan Lathrop Foreign Travel Scholarship. She also studied at the Institute de Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
In 1975 she attended the Santa Fe School of Arts and Crafts to improve her skills in sculpture and bronze casting.
During her life, she traveled extensively throughout Mexico, Central America, Africa, Europe, and the United States, drawing her inspiration from the lands and people. She became extraordinarily prolific as shown by the number of her exhibitions – over 57 in number – and reflected by the vast number of 35mm color slides of her works found in this collection.
New Mexico Museum of Art Library and Archives