Allie Eagle

Allie Eagle (9 January 1949 – 25 May 2022) was a New Zealand artist whose work in the 1970s was key to the development of feminist art practice in New Zealand. Eagle was the subject of the 2004 documentary Allie Eagle and Me, and identified as "a lesbian separatist and radical feminist." Eagle was actively involved in women's art collectives, notably Spiral.

Early life and education Eagle was born in Lower Hutt. Her birth name was Alison Mitchell but she took the name Eagle in the 1970s, linked to a series of watercolours titled I the eagle become.

Eagle completed a Diploma of Fine Arts at Ilam School of Art, University of Canterbury in 1968. In June 1975 Eagle organised Six Women Artists at the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, the first public exhibition in New Zealand focused solely "on the premise of declaring female identity". She died on 25 May 2022 at North Shore Hospital.

Allie Eagle and Me In 2004 the documentary Allie Eagle and Me was released. Directed by Briar March and with Eagle as an executive producer, the documentary looked at Eagle's place in the women's art movement of the 1970s, her journey from being a lesbian feminist to celibate Christianity, and her subsequent reconsideration of some of her positions in this period. In particular the artist stated she now has mixed views on her stance on abortion in the 1970s.