Allen Maddox

Allen Maddox (born Liverpool, 1948 - died Auckland, 23 August 2000) was an English-born New Zealand painter, known for his bold abstract works and specifically his use of the cross motif.

[1] He studied painting briefly at the School of Fine Arts at Canterbury University before dropping out to pursue an advertising career.

[5] Art historian William McAloon described the motif as 'something of a self-portrait', referring to the regularity with which the artist returned to it.

[2] The motif has been interpreted in all manner of ways, including as "a symbol of anonymity, failure, Christianity, the unknown, the illiterate".

[5] Curators Gregory O'Brien and Rebecca Wilson described his work as "probably the most thorough and impassioned instance of abstract expressionist art yet produced in this country.