Alison McKenzie was born in Bombay and grew up in Scotland.
She studied Design and Textiles at Glasgow School of Art before her family moved to London in 1930. Both Alison and her sister Winifred studied at the Grosvenor School of Modern Art under the maestro Iain Macnab.
Both sisters exhibited their work regularly, and Alison was commissioned to design several posters for the London North Eastern Railway to advertise the Yorkshire Dales and Norfolk Broads. They arrived in St Andrews to escape the London Blitz in 1940 and ended up staying there for the rest of their lives.
They set up wood engraving classes for members of the allied forces stationed there during the war. The work produced by the soldiers was exhibited at the National Gallery of Scotland in 1944.
Alison McKenzie later taught at Dundee College of Art from 1946-58. She retired from the college in 1958 to care for her elderly mother but continued to paint and exhibit. McKenzie regularly exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy, the SSWA and the RSW.
Examples of her work are in the collection of the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh.
There is a publication called The McKenzie Sisters by Aylwin Clark (1996) which looks at the lives of these two fascinating Scottish women artists.
My lovely little wood engraving by Alison McKenzie features an image of a woodland landscape in St Andrews. It is entitled The Lade Braes, St Andrews. The Braes is a popular walk and footpath which follows the route of an old mill lade The 1 1/2 mile long walk runs from Little Carron - to Lade Braes Lane at Madras College.
This print clearly shows the influence of the Grosvenor School on Alison's engraved work at this time - in particular, that of her teacher, Iain MacNab (1890 - 1967). It must date to just after her arrival in St Andrews in the early 1940s. I especially love the tree in the centre of the image - it is almost human in form, and I adore all the little details which are done with such precision. I have taken a lot of close-up images for your inspection.
Her work does not come on the market that often and it is always much sought after - this is reflected in my asking price. The work is pencil signed and titled below by the artist.
The print is sold framed and has a gold-tone moulding, as photographed. The frame and mount are in good vintage condition and all ready to hang on your wall.
Dimensions: Frame 36 x 33 cm; Image size is 12.5 x 10 cm.
UK Postage will cost £10 with Special Next Day Delivery Service. This will be applied to your order at the checkout.