George_Allen_(sculptor)

George Allen (sculptor)

George Allen (sculptor)

Australian sculptor and war artist

George Henry Allen (8 February 1900 – 12 October 1972)[1] was an Australian sculptor and teacher, an official war artist in the latter years of the Second World War.

History

Allen was born in Kangaroo Flat, Bendigo, a son of George Edward Romeo Allen and his wife Emma Maria "Annie" Allen, née Schutt.

He was educated at Bendigo Junior Technical School and in 1917 won a scholarship for training as an industrial art teacher.[2] and studied at Caulfield Technical School,[3] and Swinburne Technical College[4]

In 1933 he succeeded John S. Davie[lower-alpha 1] (1862–1955) as head of the Modelling and Sculpture Department at the Working Men's College, Melbourne, which in 1934 became the Melbourne Technical College,[1] which became RMIT, from which he retired in 1965.[4]

He served as an official war artist with the rank of lieutenant from December 1943, working at Port Moresby and the Australian War Memorial, retired February 1945.[1]

Works

  • War memorial near Shrine of Remembrance (1949)[4]
  • In 1952 he won a design contest worth £3,000, a bequest from Ballarat solicitor Willian Pinkerton. The statue, unveiled in 1952, aroused some controversy.[7]
  • War memorial, Kew Town Hall (1952)[4]
  • Australian War Memorial (1954)[4]
  • Bronze relief portraits mounted on stone wall, installed in namesake Canberra suburbs:

Recognition

  • In 1954 he was awarded the Queen's Coronation Medal.[9]

Family

Allen married Ethel Maud Turner. They had a home at 10 Ruabon Road, Toorak, Victoria.[1]

Notes

  1. Davie, a Scotsman, is best known for his statue of Robert Burns in Canberra.[5][6] He was the subject of an Archibald Prize painting by Amalie Colquhoun.

References

  1. [1]
    "Attestation Form: Allen, George Henry". Australian Military Forces. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  2. [2]
    "Technical Education". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 22, 013. Victoria, Australia. 15 February 1917. p. 5. Retrieved 16 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. [3]
    "Technical Schools". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 24, 201. Victoria, Australia. 29 February 1924. p. 6. Retrieved 16 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. [4]
    Alan McCulloch (1984). Encyclopedia of Australian Art. ISBN 009148300X.
  5. [5]
    "Memories". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 32, 573. Victoria, Australia. 25 January 1951. p. 6. Retrieved 16 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. [6]
    "Burns Statue for Canberra". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 17, 749. Victoria, Australia. 5 April 1934. p. 8. Retrieved 16 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. [7]
    "An 8-ton statue puzzles Ballarat". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 33, 111. Victoria, Australia. 17 October 1952. p. 3. Retrieved 15 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. [8]
    Works of art in Canberra. National Capital Development Commission (NCDC). 1980. pp. 1–2. ISBN 064289892. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  9. [9]
    "Coronation Medals from the Queen". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 33, 305. Victoria, Australia. 2 June 1953. p. 13. Retrieved 16 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
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