Charles Collins (c. 1680 – 1744) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. Collins was primarily a painter of animals and still life. He was one of the first still life artists in Britain of great quality, following the tradition of arranged breakfasts, still-lives or cabinets of curiosities, where items of high value and ostentation were painted.

Life

Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

around 1680 or potentially as late as 1704. Very little biographical detail is known about him. Collins worked in both oil and watercolour and appears to have exclusively produced still-lives, with game a reoccurring subject. His work shows an influence of 17th century Dutch painters such as

Jan Weenix Jan Weenix or Joannis Wenix (between 1641/164919 September 1719 (buried)) was a Dutch painter. He was trained by his father, Jan Baptist Weenix, together with his cousin Melchior d'Hondecoeter. Like his father, he painted various subjects, but ...

, Franz Snyders and

Jan Fyt Jan Fijt or Johannes Fijt (or Fyt) (19 August 1609 – 11 September 1661) was a Flemish Baroque painter, draughtsman and etcher. One of the leading animaliers of the 17th century, he was known for his refined depictions of animals and his lush ...

which has led to the suggestion that he may have spent time or been trained in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In 1732 he painted ''Twelve Months of Fruit'' for

Robert Furber Robert Furber (1674–1756) was a British horticulturist and author, best known for writing the first seed catalogue produced in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its ...

. He worked with John Lee in 1736 to produce 12 large engravings titled ''Icones avium cum nominibus anglicis'', featuring Britrish birds in gardens and landscapes. This led to Collins collaborating with

Peter Paillou Peter Paillou (c.1720 – c.1790) was a British artist best known for his paintings of birds, many of which were used as book illustrations. Life and career Little is known of his early life but it is believed that he came to Britain from Fr ...

to produce a series of watercolours of British birds and mammals for

Taylor White Taylor White (21 December 1701 – 27 March 1772) was a British jurist, naturalist, and art collector. A Fellow of the Royal Society, he was the patron of several prominent wildlife and botanical artists including Peter Paillou, George Edwards ...

, a collector. Collins produced 201 signed works for White, including a study of a Dodo, and some unsigned mammal studies. All of his bird paintings featured a tree stump or grassy mound, and Collins attempted to make the birds appear in life and active. These works were produced between 1737 and 1739. He died in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1744. At the time of his death he was described as "Bird Painter to the Royal Society". In 1786, he was referred to as an "Irish Master" by '' Dublin Evening Post'' and in 1782 a sale catalogue held him as an equal to

Melchior d'Hondecoeter Melchior d'Hondecoeter (; 1636 – 3 April 1695), Dutch animalier painter, was born in Utrecht and died in Amsterdam. After the start of his career, he painted virtually exclusively bird subjects, usually exotic or game, in park-like landscap ...

Legacy

His works had largely fallen into obscurity until the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

in London purchased his ''Still Life with a Lobster on a Delft Dish'' (1738) in 1981 which led to renewed interest in his life and work. Nine of his set of 12 original oil paintings, ''Icones avium cum nominibus anglicis,'' are held by Anglesey Abbey, CambridgeshireChristine E. Jackson, ‘Collins, Charles (c.1680–1744)’,

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, Sept 2004 and 3 are in a private collection in Ireland. Blacker Wood Library at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, Montreal, Quebec hold the largest collection of his work, from the White collection. His work is also held in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on ...

Leeds City Art Gallery Leeds Art Gallery in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a gallery, part of the Leeds Museums & Galleries group, whose collection of 20th-century British Art was designated by the British government in 1997 as a collection "of national importance ...

, and the

Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Charles 1680s births 1744 deaths 17th-century Irish painters 18th-century Irish painters Irish male painters Painters from Dublin (city) Year of birth uncertain Irish emigrants to Kingdom of Great Britain