Who is the 19th and 20th century historical woman shown in the picture?

The person in the picture is Maud Allan (1873 – 1956). She is a person in history who was surrounded by controversy. As a Canadian pianist-turned-actress, after spending her early years in San Francisco, California, she moved to Germany in 1895 to study piano. Due to her amazing talent, she later founded a concert agency where she was responsible for organizing live concerts or special event performances. She had to later change her name due to connections to her brother who was hanged for the murder of two women in San Francisco. This would not be the last time Allan would have an unfavorable limelight cast upon her.

She left the world of music-making and started dancing, being known for her performances and the imaginative costumes that she made herself. In 1906 in Vienna, her production of "Vision of Salomé" (The Dance of the Seven Veils) gained notoriety. The British MP Noel Pemberton Billing publicly attacked her show in the news media. He also accused the dancer of being an associate of German wartime conspirators, undoubtedly due to her early German roots.

From the 1920s, Allan had taught dance and lived with her secretary and lover, Verna Aldrich. She eventually settled in the Los Angeles, CA during World War II and worked as a draughtswoman at Macdonald Aircraft. Allan would die in Los Angeles in 1956 at the age of 83.