Cecil Collins
Encyclopedia
Cecil Collins was an English
artist originally associated with the Surrealist movement.
He was born in Plymouth
and worked first as a mechanic at a firm based in Devonport
. From 1924 to 1927 he attended Plymouth School of Art. In 1927 he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art
where he won the William Rothenstein
Life Drawing Prize.
From 1951 to 1975 he taught at the Central School of Art. Later, one of his pupils was Ginger Gilmour
.
BBC Radio ran a program about him in 1981 in the Conversations with Artists series, with Edward Lucie-Smith
.
In honour of the centenary of his birth, a portrait of Cecil Collins: a mosaic in word form, is forthcoming. "In Celebration of Cecil Collins: Visionary Artist and Educator" consists of reflections by almost a hundred people, including curators, gallery owners, film-makers, writers, critics, musicians, friends, teaching colleagues, models and students. There is also a six months display at Tate Britain from the end of October.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
artist originally associated with the Surrealist movement.
He was born in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
and worked first as a mechanic at a firm based in Devonport
Devonport, Devon
Devonport, formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889...
. From 1924 to 1927 he attended Plymouth School of Art. In 1927 he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
where he won the William Rothenstein
William Rothenstein
Sir William Rothenstein was an English painter, draughtsman and writer on art.-Life and work:William Rothenstein was born into a German-Jewish family in Bradford, West Yorkshire. His father, Moritz, emigrated from Germany in 1859 to work in Bradford's burgeoning textile industry...
Life Drawing Prize.
From 1951 to 1975 he taught at the Central School of Art. Later, one of his pupils was Ginger Gilmour
Ginger Gilmour
Ginger Gilmour, Ginger Gilmour, Ginger Gilmour, (born Virginia Hasenbein in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA on 19 January 1949, is an artist and former model, and the first wife of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.-Personal life :...
.
BBC Radio ran a program about him in 1981 in the Conversations with Artists series, with Edward Lucie-Smith
Edward Lucie-Smith
John Edward McKenzie Lucie-Smith is a British writer, poet, art critic, curator, broadcaster and author of exhibition catalogues.-Biography:Lucie-Smith was born in Kingston, Jamaica, moving to the United Kingdom in 1946...
.
In honour of the centenary of his birth, a portrait of Cecil Collins: a mosaic in word form, is forthcoming. "In Celebration of Cecil Collins: Visionary Artist and Educator" consists of reflections by almost a hundred people, including curators, gallery owners, film-makers, writers, critics, musicians, friends, teaching colleagues, models and students. There is also a six months display at Tate Britain from the end of October.
Exhibitions
- 1935 - Bloomsbury Gallery, London, England
- 1936 - International Surrealist Exhibition - New Burlington Galleries, London, England
- 1942 - Toledo Museum of Fine Art, USA
- 1948 - New Paintings by Cecil Collins - Lefevre Gallery, London, England
- 1950 - New Paintings - Heffer Gallery, Cambridge, England
- 1951 - Leicester Galleries
- 1953 - Society of Mural Painters
- 1953 - Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
- 1954 - Arts Council, London
- 1956 - Leicester Galleries
- 1959 - Whitechapel Gallery, London
- 1961 - Gallery Zygos, Athens, Greece
- 1964 - Carnegie International Exhibition, Pittsburgh, USA
- 1965 - Arthur Tooth & Sons
- 1967 - Crane Kalman Gallery
- 1971 - Britain's Contribution to Surrealism - Hamet Gallery, London, England
- 1972 - Retrospective Exhibition. Drawings, Paintings, Watercolours, Gouaches and Paintings 1936-1968
- 1981 - New Works - Anthony d'OffayAnthony d'OffayAnthony d'Offay is a British art dealer, he closed his gallery - Anthony d’Offay Gallery - in 2002.-Life and career:...
, London, England - 1981 - The Prints of Cecil Collins - Tate Gallery, London, England
- 1983 - Plymouth Arts Centre
- 1984 - Festival Gallery, Aldeburgh
- 1988 - Recent Paintings - Anthony d'OffayAnthony d'OffayAnthony d'Offay is a British art dealer, he closed his gallery - Anthony d’Offay Gallery - in 2002.-Life and career:...
, London, England - 1989 - Tate Gallery, London
External links
- Cecil Collins at the Tate Gallery
- Artist's £1m works left to the nation (BBC News - 2 March 2001)
- Eye of the Heart. The paintings of Cecil Collins. 1978. Arts Council England film collection