Cecil Collins

The Joy of the Worlds

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About this artwork

This work was painted in Totnes, Devon, where the artist moved in the autumn of 1936. Collins was influenced by scientific and biological developments, such as recent advances in the illustration of cells and by astronomical photographs. Among the biomorphic forms in the painting stands a man with a staff and halo. He appears elsewhere in Collins's work as 'The Pilgrim.' The surrounding form can therefore be seen as a protective womb for this new image of man. The use of green is unusual in Collins's work at this time.

Updated before 2020

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  • artist:
    Cecil Collins (1908 - 1989) English
  • title:
    The Joy of the Worlds
  • date created:
    1937
  • materials:
    Oil on wood
  • measurements:
    127.00 x 127.00 cm; Framed: 145.00 x 145.00 x 5.30 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Bequeathed by Mrs Elisabeth Collins through Art Fund, 2001
  • accession number:
    GMA 4372
  • gallery:
  • subject:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Cecil Collins

Cecil Collins