Peter Collins (b. 1935)

Peter Collins studied at the Edinburgh College of Art, initially focusing on figuration, with a particular emphasis on a delicacy of line and a sense of romantism, eventually distilled to a metaphysical realism as evident in the present painting. He employed a Victorian technique of painting into a not yet dried ground, 'the pigments diluted with copal oil medium and applied very gently in minute strokes rendered with fine sable brushes.' The present work is closely related to Consider the Lilies, also from 1971, in Dundee Art Galleries and Museums, that also employs the compositional element of the veil, at once refering to Surrealism as well as the religious imagery of St. Veronica's veil.