Mary Cecil Allen papers
name: label: Creator
content: Allen, Mary Cecil, 1893-1962
label: Names
content: Allen, Mary Cecil, 1893-1962
label: Names
content: Hensche, Henry, 1901-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- Australia -- Melbourne
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Australia -- Melbourne
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women painters
label: Topic
content: Women educators
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art in 1996 by Elisabeth Hooker. Hooker was a friend of Allen's and found the papers among Allen's effects soon after her death.
creator: label: Creator
content: Allen, Mary Cecil, 1893-1962
setName: label: See more items in
content: Mary Cecil Allen papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The scattered papers of Australian artist and lecturer Mary Cecil Allen measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1928 to 1970. Found is a copy of Allen's book, The Mirror of the Passing World (1928) and a mixed media scrapbook focusing on Allen's return to Melbourne, Australia. Inserted in the book are a letter to Elisabeth Hooker, and a snapshot of Allen with the painters Henry and Ada Hensche and art shop owner, Will Rogers, in the Hensche's house, Provincetown, Massachusetts.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Mary Cecil Allen (1893-1962) was a painter and educator in Melbourne, Australia, New York, New York, and Provincetown, Massachusetts who was also known as Cecil Allen and Mary Cecil. 

Born in Australia, Allen studied at the National Gallery of Victoria for several years, and briefly at the Slade School in London. In 1927, she accepted an invitation to lecture on art for the People's Institute, sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation. The lectures formed the basis for her two books, The Mirror of the Passing World and Painters of the Modern Mind, and for her successful lifelong career as a lecturer. She returned to Melbourne during 1935-1936, where she lectured on modern art and exhibited her work. From 1950 until her death she split her time between Provincetown, Massachusetts and Australia. She died in Provincetown on April 7, 1962.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1928-1970
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.allemary
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2023 with support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The scattered papers of Australian-born painter and educator Mary Cecil Allen measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1928 to 1970. Found is a copy of Allen's book, The Mirror of the Passing World (1928) and a mixed media scrapbook focusing on Allen's return to Melbourne, Australia. Inserted in the book are a letter to Elisabeth Hooker, and a snapshot of Allen with the painters Henry and Ada Hensche and art shop owner, Will Rogers, in the Hensche's house, Provincetown, Massachusetts.