Roland Collins
Roland Collins 1918 – 2015
Drawings & Gouaches - A Retrospective
10 - 26 February 2016
Monday - Friday 10.00 - 5.30 Saturday 11.00 - 2.00
Browse & Darby 19 Cork Street London W1S 3LP Tel: 020 7734 7984 Fax: 0207851 6650 email: art@browseanddarby.co.uk www. browseanddarby.co.uk
Roland Collins (b.1918) knew from an early age that he wanted to be an artist, having won a poster competition at the age of eight organised by the Evening News. From Kilburn Grammar School he went on to study for two years at St. Martin’s School of Art, and then became a studio assistant at an advertising agency, the London Press Exchange, designing advertisements. He continued to produce his own work, which at this time consisted of detailed drawings of the Thames and Regent’s Canal. In 1937 he had his first taste of recognition when a drawing was accepted for the Royal Academy Summer exhibition. In 1940, having registered as a conscientious objector, Collins rented a studio at 29 Percy Street in Fitzrovia, which remained a base and refuge for over 40 years, and where he worked both on his paintings and commercial commissions. His older contemporaries, Edward Bawden, John Piper and Eric Ravilious, whose varied interpretations of the romantic tradition Collins has always admired, played a significant role in his approach to painting. His strong use of colour and bold delineations, however, characterise an artist very much of his own mind. Collins’ work documents the architecture and landscapes of his extensive travels, London, Sussex, Kent and Dieppe being particular favourites. These places are a constant source of inspiration and record many buildings and scenes that are no longer in existence. A founding member of The Charlotte Street Association, his past exhibitions include The City of London Art Exhibition and those of The London Group, The Pastel Society and The Royal Society of London Artists, and his work is included in The Museum of London and Camden Borough collections. From 1994 Collins began exhibiting with the Michael Parkin Gallery and his many one man shows and representation at art fairs helped to make his work more widely known. It was the highly successful exhibition in 2012 at the Mascalls Gallery in Kent that finally granted him the recognition that is long overdue. This exhibition of drawings and gouaches organised by Browse & Darby commemorates the life and work of a respected man and admired artist, whose elegiac depictions of towns and coastal scenes paint a nostalgic picture of the Post-War Britain.
1. Greenwich, ink on paper, 9 3/4 x 12 1/4 ins.
2. Maida Vale, pencil on paper, 11 x 15 3/4 ins.
3. Ickenham Church, Middlesex, 1936, ink on paper, 9 3/4 x 12 3/4 ins.
4. The Great Barn, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1936, ink on paper, 7 3/4 x 10 3/4 ins.
5. Isleworth, pencil on paper, 7 3/4 x 10 3/4 ins.
6. Montpelier Place, Knightsbridge, pencil on paper, 11 1/2 x 17 ins.
7. Charing Cross Road, St. Martin’s Art School, pencil on paper, 11 3/4 x 21 1/2 ins.
8. The Mill, Cambridge, pencil on paper, 9 x 13 1/2 ins.
9. Leicester Square, South West Corner, pencil on paper, 15 1/4 x 8 ins.
10. Kilburn, NW6, 1937, pencil and wash, 9 3/4 x 14 1/2 ins.
11. The Record Office, Clifford’s Inn, ink, wash and watercolour, 10 1/2 x 14 ins.
12. Island Wall Whitstable, ink, 15 x 21 ins.
13. Fitzrovia Festival, 1975, poster, 22 1/4 x 16 ins.
14. St Petroc’s Church, Cornwall, Mayday, 1986, screenprint, ed. no. 6/8, 16 x 12 ins.
15. Nutley, Ashdown Forest, gouache, 16 x 12 ins.
16. Wharncliffe Viaduct by Brunel, Hanwell, gouache, 15 x 41 1/4 ins.
17. Tent Island, Shiplake Lock, Thames, gouache, 10 1/2 x 14 1/2 ins.
18. Beachy Head Lighthouse, gouache, 13 1/2 x 10 1/2 ins.
19. Hallsands, Devon, gouache, 14 3/4 x 21 ins.
20. Bell Ropes, gouache, 14 1/2 x 10 1/2 ins.
21. The Thames near Oxford, gouache, 15 x 20 1/2 ins.
22. Isleworth, Middlesex, gouache, 15 x 21 ins.
23. Brewer’s Crane, Mortlake, gouache, 15 x 20 3/4 ins.
24. Luxembourg Gardens, Paris, gouache, 15 x 21 ins.
25. Cannes, South of France, gouache, 15 x 20 1/4 ins.
26. Padstow, gouache, 21 1/2 x 15 ins.
27. Medway, Upnor, gouache, 15 x 20 3/4 ins.
28. Solva, Pembrokeshire, gouache, 15 x 20 1/2 ins.
29. Vauxhall, SW9, gouache, 20 1/4 x 14 3/4 ins.
30. Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, gouache, 15 x 20 3/4 ins.
31. Newhaven, gouache, 15 x 20 3/4 ins.
32. Self-Portrait at Neptune Cottage, pen
33. Whitstable, gouache, 15 x 21 1/4 ins.
34. After Vivian Pitchforth, Whitstable, gouache, 15 3/4 x 21 ins.
35. Whitstable, gouache, 14 3/4 x 19 3/4 ins.
36. Roofs, Sen Wall, Whitstable, gouache, 15 x 21 ins.
37. Oyster Boat and Harbour Lighthouse, Whitstable, gouache, 15 x 21 ins.
38. Whitstable, F115, gouache, 15 x 21 ins.
39. Gamecock, Whitstable, gouache, 15 x 20 3/4 ins.
40. Cranes, Whitstable, gouache, 15 x 21 ins.
41. Genesta, Porthill, Cornwall, gouache, 14 1/2 x 20 ins.
42. St. Mary’s, Scilly Isles, gouache, 12 1/2 x 18 ins.
43. Woodstock, Oxfordshire, gouache, 10 1/2 x 14 1/2 ins.
44. Lyme Regis, Dorset, gouache, 10 1/2 x 14 1/2 ins.
45. The Red Brick Building, gouache, 15 x 21 ins.
46. Old Stand, Epsom, gouache, 20 x 14 ins.
Browse & Darby
19 Cork Street London W1S 3LP