Davida Allen was born in Charleville on 20 October 1951. After undertaking art studies under Betty Churcher while at school in Brisbane at Stuart Holme convent (1965-1969) and at the Brisbane College of Art (1970-1972), Davida had her first solo exhibition at Ray Hughes Gallery in Brisbane in 1973. She has since exhibited regularly, and in 1986 became one of the few female artists to win the Archibald Prize with her portrait "My father-in-law watering his garden", her father-in-law being Dr John Arthur McKelvey Shera. In 1991, Davida's novel "Autobiography of Vicki Myers: Close to the Bone" was published by Simon and Schuster, and in 1999 she wrote and directed the film "Feeling Sexy", which was based partly on the novel. Both the film and the novel have strong autobiographical elements.
From the description of 5675 Davida Allen Papers, 1988-1993. (Libraries Australia). WorldCat record id: 755780254
