sketcher, was born on 26 December 1832, only daughter of Joseph and Mary Morton Allport . Her mother taught her to draw from infancy and examples of her work, notably trees and flowers 'from Nature’ and a few landscapes, were kept in Mary Morton’s Book of Treasures (ALMFA). They date from 15 October 1842 to the mid 1850s. 'Minnie’s first sketch from Nature’, On the Macquarie Creek Hobarton , dated 14 January 1845, shows the influence of John Skinner Prout . Copies of landscapes after John Glover and her English aunt, Mary Anne Allport, are also known, but Minnie Allport’s mature work mainly consisted of delicate watercolours of native Australian flowers, both single specimens and decorative bunches. Peppermint Trees in Our Garden (1844) and Bunch of Native Berries from Mount Wellington (attrib.) are in the Allport Collection.
Allport continued to paint watercolours after her marriage to Lieutenant-Colonel James Reid in St George’s Church of England, Hobart Town, on 15 October 1853, but they left for India immediately after the wedding and none of her Indian work survives. In India, James became commissioner at Fyzabad, Oudh. Mary Louise died at sea on 28 July 1871 on the way from Pont de Galle to Melbourne on board RMSS Geelong .
A stained-glass window in All Saints’ Church of England, South Hobart, was given by her husband in her memory. The two light stained glass window depicts Faith & Hope and has the memorial text:
“Sacred to the memory of Mary Louise Reid only daughter of Joseph & Mary Morton Allport she died at sea July 28th 1871. This window was erected by her sorrowing husband Lieut Col James Reid Bengal staff corps commissioner of Fyzabab Oudh”.
Her silhouette portrait, cut by her mother, is in the Book of Treasures .
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- Writers:
- Staff Writer
rayjbrown
- Date written:
- 1992
- Last updated:
- 2012
