[2] Her father owned a store that sold guns and sporting goods in downtown Halifax, and by the early 20th century was also offering taxidermy services.

[4] Her father thought that millinery would be a more secure source of income than art, even though pay was low, but Alice was determined.

[7] Around 1892 an artist named Bessie Brown taught Alice Egan basic china painting techniques.

Photographs show that she took care to give the room and feminine and domestic feeling despite its commercial purpose.

Mary Dignam supervised the work of Alice Egan and twelve other Ontario and Quebec artists.

[14] The dinner service for eight courses with 24 place settings was to commemorate the 400th anniversary in 1897 of John Cabot's discovery of Canada.

[6] Each of these plates is painted on bone china blanks from Doulton & Co. of Burslem, Staffordshire, England, and depicts a different Canadian game bird.

[13] In 1898 the "Canadian Historical Dinner Service" was purchased by private subscriptions from members of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, and on 13 June 1898 was formally presented to Lady Aberdeen by the Senate of Canada after the end of the term of her husband as Governor General.

The images were in a broad range of styles including naturalist, figurative, Asian and Art Nouveau.

The Hagens went on a tour of Europe, and Alice visited leading china manufacturers in England, France and Italy.

[23] In retirement, John Hagen was very supportive of his wife, and would do the cooking to give her time for her work.

[2] When Alice Hagen began working in clay in 1931 the craft revival was already underway elsewhere, but in Nova Scotia she was a pioneer of studio pottery.

She developed a form of agateware using clays stained green, white and blue, which she called "Scotian Pebble".

Casually disposed on ceramic tile tables stood vases and priceless lustre.

Chinaware and decorated glass spilled out of cupboards and china cabinets, or stood carelessly on the floor ... She mixes her cakes in a gorgeous punch bowl hand painted in enamel overglaze.

[7] The Nova Scotia government received forty-eight pieces of her handpainted china, glass and pottery, which are on display at the Citadel Museum in Halifax.