George R. Allen: Portrait Painter of 19th Century Texas (1830–unknown)
Published: 1976
Updated: October 26, 2019
George R. Allen was born in Connecticut in 1830 and moved, probably in 1849, to Huntsville, Texas, where he advertised as a portrait painter. There he painted portraits of Henderson K. Yoakum and members of Sam Houston's family, including Nancy Lea and Margaret Moffette Lea Houston. The severe style that characterizes his art is reminiscent of eighteenth-century Dutch portraiture. His work is stiff and rather two-dimensional with little modeling to the forms; and with the exception of flesh tones, his palette is almost colorless. After leaving Huntsville, Allen seems to have made Galveston the center of his activities.
Bibliography:
Pauline A. Pinckney, Painting in Texas: The Nineteenth Century (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1967).
Categories:
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Pauline A. Pinckney, “Allen, George R.,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/allen-george-r.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
FAL19
- 1976
- October 26, 2019
