Painter. Born in Glasgow, the son of a publisher and an amateur artist, Allan studied in Glasgow and Paris (1875-80) before settling in London. He is noted particularly for his watercolours, his style influenced by the Impressionists. He became a regular exhibitor at the French Salon, winning medals in 1899 and 1900. Scenes of N France were followed by works completed during trips abroad including Italy, the Netherlands and Spain as well as further afield to India (1891-2), Japan (1907) and N Africa (1911-2). He also painted the fishing villages and cliffs of NE Scotland. He was commissioned to paint the portrait of the former Prime Minister David Lloyd George in 1934.
Allan was a friend of the artist Arthur Melville (1855 - 1904) and was visited by him in Paris in 1878.