Peter Collins ARCA

Provenance: The Late Peter & Georgette Collins Collection - 'The Contents of Stanley Studios, Chelsea'

Peter Collins was born in 1923 and his first job was in the commercial studio of an advertising agency, during which time he attended art school in the evening. His career was interrupted by World War II and in 1943, he entered the army, serving in the Royal Artillery where he was attached to the Education Corps teaching Painting and Drawing and also holding an appointment as part-time teacher at St. Martin’s School of Art.

After the war, Peter won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art 1947-1950. He went on to work as a commercial artist, producing iconic travel posters for British Railways and British European Airways. He also worked as a designer for ICI and Shell, and held the position of Art Director at Odhams Press. In the 1960’s Peter and his wife Georgette converted a group of buildings in Balcombe, Sussex which became ‘Balcombe Galleries’. In 1975 they acquired Stanley Studios in Chelsea, which was scheduled for demolishment and redevelopment. Purpose built artist studios were converted into single residence and over the next two decades they filled the spaces with paintings, antiques, curios and sculpture. Stanley Studios boasted a considerable cultural pedigree, having been a work space for artists such as Jack Smith, Rodrigo Moynihan and Elizabeth Frink.

The collection harks back to a golden age when Georgette and Peter Collins were immersed in Chelsea’s Bohemian art scene.