even as a little girl, drawing, painting, and making things with her hands. The family lived in Orleans and then Indianapolis, where Sue graduated from Southport High School in 1960.
Sue married James Francis“ Jim” McAllister. They set up housekeeping in Greenwood and raised their family: daughter Perri and son Jim. Sue’ s guiding principle in parenthood was to“ always know where your children are.”
The couple moved to Brown County when“ mommy duties” were no longer pressing. Sue worked in the frame shop and Jim commuted back to Greenwood. Sue felt it in her bones that this was“ coming home” and has lived in Nashville for nearly 50 years.
Customers repeatedly asked who could clean and restore art and Sue found her niche in art restoration. Realizing the need, she closed her frame shop so that she could devote more time to restoration. She reports that currently there are only three people in the state of Indiana who do this work.
The Out of the Ordinary gang next to Sue McAllister’ s mural.
Thirty years ago she built a home one and a quarter miles north of the courthouse in Orchard Hill, site of the apple orchard business of early artist Dale Bassire. She has a studio in the lower level of the house for her business. Pieces arrive via the US Postal Service, FedEx, and UPS from within and outside of Indiana.
In the early 1960s, the Brown County Art Gallery tragically caught fire. Paintings were blackened by smoke and charred. The damaged pieces were stored in the Gallery’ s vault until Sue could get to them. The collection vault of the Brown County Art Guild also holds pieces that Sue cleaned. She estimates she has restored between 4000 and 5000 paintings, including pieces painted by all the members of the Art Colony.
Sue says,“ I do this because I love it, and I want to keep the art alive. When I’ m through, the piece will be good for another hundred years.” Mexican painter Frida Kahlo said,“ I paint flowers so they will not die.” Sue’ s work in art restoration fulfills her urge to keep artwork vibrant and alive. The attention to skill and detail in
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Jan./ Feb. 2022 • Our Brown County 17