Charles Collins (Dublin 1680-1744 London)

Described by George Vertue as "a painter of all sorts of fowl and game" whose style was "free & masterly", Charles Collins was a Dublin-based painter renowned for his depictions of exotic animals and game. Though influenced by the Dutch masters Jan Baptist Weenix and Melchior de Hondecoeter, Collins developed a distinct style, characterized by J.C. Wood in his Dictionary of British Animal Painters as "miniaturist and...adept at catching the characteristic pose of a bird". Although Ellis Waterhouse notes that Collins was an artist "of considerable competence", his pictures are rare and do not often appear on the market.