Emily McLennan

edited by Sheila Kim -- Interior Design, 5/1/2003 12:00:00 AM

Born in Rochester, New York, Emily McLennan died April 1 at the age of 59. McLennan earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and went on to study at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine and Switzerland's Basel School of Design. She became a faculty member at the Cooper Union in New York and later taught painting and design at Briarcliff College on Long Island. In 1994, she switched gears from fine art to lighting, designing pieces that combined primitive influences with references to Constantin Brancusi and Alberto Giacometti. Her talent was immediately evident. Only a year into her new career, she won the Editors' Award for lighting at New York's International Contemporary Furniture Fair. McLennan is survived by her husband, Grant McLennan, and their daughters, Ann Ramone and Kate Schreiber.