Allen, Olive, 1879-1957

Olive Allen Biller (1879-1957) wrote and illustrated at least ten books for children's annual and magazines such as Blackie's and Girl's Realm prior to immigrating to Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan in 1912. In 1915 she returned to England while her husband, Jack Biller, was in World War I. He was killed in 1916 and she moved with her two children to James Island, near Victoria, BC, to be near her brother George. Subsequently she lived in Victoria (1927-1934) and Vancouver (1934-1957). A lack of opportunities for illustrating turned her toward landscape painting. While in Victoria she showed with the Vancouver Island Arts and Crafts Society, and between 1935 and 1947 her work was shown several times at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

From the description of Olive Allen Biller Collection. 1890-[ca. 1950] (University of British Columbia Library). WorldCat record id: 607089227