Jerry & Ruth Opper Estate: "Flo Allen Stool"

Flo Allen (1913-1997) Florence Virginia Wysinger Allen (Flo Allen), was an artists' model for more than 30 years. She was called "San Francisco's best loved artists' model". Allen attended Fremont High School and became active in the San Francisco arts community and became a civil rights activist and newspaper columnist. Her social circle included the likes of Paul Robeson, Paul Newman, Harry Belafonte and Allen Ginsberg. She began modeling in 1933 and worked as an artist's model for most of the prominent figurative painters working in the Bay Area of San Francisco, including Diego Rivera, Mark Rothko, and Wayne Thiebaud. She also worked as a model in university art classes, including those at the San Francisco Art Institute, Mills College, University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University, and the California College of Arts and Crafts. In 1946, Ms. Allen founded The Bay Area Models Guild BAMG) of San Francisco. In 1995 Flo donated her papers to the national collections of the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

"Flo Allen Stool"
From the Jerry & Ruth Opper Estate, Flo Allen Stool, Gouache, 
18X15X0in, 
INV# RO3-1, 
Market Value $1,000, 
Condition notes: Excellent Condition, Minor wear consistent with age and history