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BILLER, Olive Allen
- Born
- Ormskirk, England, 1879
- Died
- Vancouver, British Columbia, 1957
- Biography synopsis
- The youngest of seven children, Olive Allen Biller was born on October 17, 1879 in Ormskirk, England. She attended the Slade School of Art in London (1900-1903) where she was instructed by Herbert McNair. Before immigrating to Canada, her illustrations were published in at least ten books, and she wrote and illustrated stories for children's annuals and magazines such as Blackie's and Girl's Realm. In 1912, Allen immigrated to Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan, to marry her long-time sweetheart Jack Biller. During the First World War she moved to England, returning to Canada when her husband was killed in 1916. She and her two children John and Jill then moved to James Island, British Columbia. During this time she published poems and wrote children's plays. Her landscape paintings were shown with the Vancouver Island Arts and Crafts Society. After relocating to Vancouver in 1934, she took classes at the newly opened BC College of Art, studying with FH Varley, Jock Macdonald and Tonschek Ustinov.
- Media used
- Book illustration
- Painting
- Watercolour
- Education
- British Columbia College of Art, 1934c - ? (under FH Varley, Jock Macdonald, Tonschek Ustinov)
- Memberships
- Island Arts and Crafts Society
- File & Archive locations
- University of British Columbia - Rare Books and Special Collections
- Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
- University of Glasgow, UK - Whistler Correspondence
- British Columbia Archives
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- Romkey, Sarah. "The Olive Allen Biller Collection" http://www.library.ubc.ca/spcoll/displays/OliveAllenBiller Vancouver: UBC Library Rare Books and Special Collections, 2007
- Swallow, Derek. "Olive Allen Biller (1879-1957): Painter, Illustrator, Writer" ?
Writings by- Biller, Olive. Prairie Volume 1 Unpublished (1917-1919), ?
- Biller, Olive. "Weekly News From James." Sidney Review British Columbia: 01Sept. 1921: 1
- Biller, Olive. "Weekly News From James." Sidney Review British Columbia: 06Nov. 1924: 1
- Biller, Olive Allen. "Junk From James [Ode to Wong]." Sidney Review 13 Jul. 1922: 5
