Consider the Lilies

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Peter Collins
Born Inverness, 1935

Consider the Lilies, 1971

Oil on canvas
Scottish Arts Council Bequest 1997
Museum number 1998-14

Collins studied at Edinburgh College of Art. His early paintings were figurative and characterized by a delicacy of line and sense of romanticism. In 1969, he turned to metaphysical realism as seen in this painting.

The arum lily was chosen for its pure sculptural form and the cloth in the background, pinned to his studio wall, makes reference to St Veronica’s veil, despite the absence of an imprint of Christ’s head.

Collins states: “I painted the flower and its yet unfurled neighbour employing a Victorian technique: painting into a not yet dried white ground, the pigments diluted with copal oil medium and applied very gently in minute strokes rendered with fine sable brushes.”