Cecil Collins British 1908-1989
Cecil Collins painter, printmaker & poet, was born in Plymouth. Cecil Collins studied at the local School of Art (1924-27) and won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art (1927-31). He had his first one man show at the Bloomsbury gallery in 1935 and the following year his works were included in the 1936 ‘International Surrealist Exhibition’ at the Burlington Galleries, London which was organised by David Gascoyne, Roland Penrose and Herbert Read . At Dartington Hall he met American artist, Mark Tobey, who fostered his interest in Far Eastern Art & philosophy. His visionary art was concerned with religious and spiritual inquiry. In 1951 he taught at the Central School of Arts and Crafts where he taught for many years and fondly regarded by his students. In 1947 he published a book ‘The Vision of a Fool’ , the Fool was a recurrent theme in his work. He had amny one man shows including a major retrospective exhibition which was held at the Tate Gallery in 1989.
