Mary Allis (March 2, 1899 – May 8, 1987) was an American dealer of art and antiques. Allis was born into a

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

family of modest means, and moved to New York in 1929 to begin a career in the field of

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

. In the mid-1940s she opened an antiques store in central

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. At around the same time she began the restoration of the David Ogden House in Fairfield, ultimately turning it into a showcase for eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century American folk paintings and furniture. She became an influential guide to many important collectors, such as Stewart Gregory. Allis gained recognition in 1958 when she purchased the collection of folk art assembled by William J. and Marion Raymond Gunn of Newtonville,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Of the 630 pieces, many of them folk portraits, in the collection, around 150 were purchased by Stephen Clark for the

New York State Historical Association The Fenimore Art Museum (formerly known as New York State Historical Association) is a museum located in Cooperstown, New York on the west side of Otsego Lake. Collection strengths include the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indi ...

; the remainder went to other institutions and private collectors. The

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in Williamsburg, Virginia. Its historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, whe ...

is among the institutions which purchased work from Allis. Once described as the "doyenne of folk-art dealers" and the "first lady of folk art", Allis was highly regarded among other dealers during her career. She died in Fairfield.

References

1899 births 1987 deaths American art dealers American women art dealers Businesspeople from Cleveland People from Fairfield, Connecticut Businesspeople from Connecticut 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen {{US-business-bio-1890s-stub