Davida Allen grew up on a property outside Toowoomba, Queensland. Despite the assumption that her life would follow the usual path for young women of her background and upbringing, what Allen really wanted was to be an artist. As a student at Stuartholme School in Brisbane, her art teacher Betty Churcher introduced her to abstraction and expressionism, inspiring her to indulge her love of the materiality of paint.
This double portrait of fellow Queenslander Bill Hayden AC (1933‒2023) and his wife Dallas Hayden (née Broadfoot, b. 1935) was painted during his time as Governor-General from 1989 to 1996. Allen stayed at Government House, Yarralumla while working on it. She got her inspiration for the portrait as the couple dressed for an important dinner, and Hayden sought advice from his wife on the speech he was shortly to deliver.
Gift of the artist 1999. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Davida Allen
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