Lot 1

Private collection, Melbourne

Mary Cecil Allen was a painter, educator and critic whose career helped shape Australia's engagement with modern art. Born in Melbourne, she was the daughter of Sir John Charles Allen, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Melbourne, and grew up within the city's intellectual and cultural circles. Allen studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School before furthering her training at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. In 1922, she joined Max Meldrum's school, where his tonal approach influenced her early practice.

Allen's contribution extended well beyond her own painting. In 1925 she became the first woman appointed art critic for The Sun, followed a year later by her appointment as the National Gallery of Victoria's first female guide-lecturer. At a time when few women held such public roles, she became an influential voice within Melbourne's art world, encouraging a broader understanding of contemporary art through her writing and lectures.

After moving to New York in 1927, Allen encountered the international modernist movement where her practice shifted towards abstraction. In 1931 she organised the first exhibition of Australian Art in New York at the Roerich Museum before returning to Melbourne in 1935. Through her exhibitions, writing and lectures, Allen introduced the ideas she had encountered abroad to the Australian art world.

Hannah Ryan
Senior Art Specialist