Sheila Allen beamed as she walked into the Hocken Gallery's newest exhibition, ''W. H. Allen and the La Trobe Effect''.
''Oh, I remember that,'' she exclaimed, gesturing at one of the paintings.
The painting was of her sister as a teenager, and the exhibition was named for her father, W. H. Allen.
Sheila Allen (86) was born in Dunedin and lived here until she was 4, while her father was a teacher at the Dunedin School of Art in the 1920s and 1930s.
At the time, Allen's work was groundbreaking - and controversial - because it diverged from traditional ideas about what paintings should look like.
The artist's two daughters figured significantly in his paintings, often informally posed, which was part of what made them controversial in the mid-20th century.
But Miss Allen did not know anything about that when she was his subject, she said.
''I can't say I really was [aware of it], because you don't think of that when you're young.''
When she got older and discovered the reputation of his art, though, Miss Allen was proud of her father.
''I was proud of him, because he encouraged people; people in New Zealand that were isolated.''
Her father's paintings of her were now in her home in England, she said.
The paintings featured in the Hocken exhibition came from her estranged sister, Tui.
''She didn't have anything to do with me,'' she said.
Miss Allen was not informed of her sister's death, and only found out through her sister's will where her father's paintings would be going.
''They only told me [she died] the day before the funeral, so I knew nothing. So I didn't know, I got a copy of her will, and I found out she donated the paintings if you would pay carriage ... it's the Hocken collection that must have paid. So I was ignorant of that fact entirely.''
She was not sure why she and her sister had not spoken for most of their adult lives, but it had meant she was the only one to take care of her father when he was dying.
''I was the person who looked after my father. She didn't do anything at all.''
Nonetheless, she looked fondly on the years she and her sister had spent in New Zealand, and considered New Zealand to be her home.
''I was very comfortable, because I was a true New Zealander ... it's home to me, you might say.''
And despite the estrangement from her sister, Miss Allen was ''very pleased'' to see the exhibition.
''It will bring me back memories, because I knew when the paintings were painted.''
She enjoyed coming back to Dunedin, where she remembered going to St Kilda Beach as a child.
She had been back to New Zealand many times over the years, but thought this would likely be her last visit.
''I don't suppose I'll be visiting New Zealand again, because I'm no spring chicken,'' she laughed.
