Colin Gill
Colin Unwin Gill (12 May 1892 – 16 November 1940) was an English artist who painted murals and portraits and is most notable for the work he produced as a war artist during World War One.[1]
Early life
Colin Gill was born at Bexley Heath in Kent. He studied at the Slade School of Art and in 1913 became the first recipient of the Rome Scholarship in Decorative Painting to the British School in Rome.[1]
World War One
At the start of World War One, Gill joined the Royal Garrison Artillery and served with them on the Western Front until 1916 when he was seconded to Royal Engineers to work as a front-line camouflage officer.[2] He was invalided back to England in March 1918 and given a post as a camouflage instructor. In May 1918 he offered his services as a war artist but initially was turned down. After the British War Memorials Committee did commission Gill to produce a large work for the proposed, but never built Hall of Remembrance, he was released from his duties at the Camouflage School and returned to France on 7 November 1918 to do sketches, and other work, for his BWMC commission. He stayed in France until 14 December 1918, visiting Mons only hours after it had been retaken by the Allies.[3] The visit to France resulted in the paintings Heavy Artillery and Evening, After a Push. By 1919 Gill had returned to the British School in Rome.
Later life
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Gill exhibited with New English Art Club for the first time in 1914 and eventually became a member of the group in 1926. Gill also showed works at the Royal Academy from 1924 onwards and taught painting at the Royal College of Art from 1922 until 1925.[4] Between 1925 and 1927, Gill worked on a large mural, King Alfred's long-ships defeat the Danes, 877, for St. Stephen's Hall in the Palace of Westminster.[5] This was followed by mural commissions for the Bank of England, Essex County Hall in Chelmsford and Northampton Guildhall. In 1938, under the name Richard Saxby, Gill with his wife Una Long published the book Five Came to London. In 1939 Gill received a commission to paint murals at the Johannesburg Magistrates' Courts and it was in South Africa, in November 1940, that Gill died of an illness.
References
- ^ a b Tate. "Artist biography; Colin GILL 1892-1940". Tate. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Art from the First World War. Imperial War Museum. 2008. ISBN 978-1-904897-98-9.
- ^ Imperial War Museum. "War artists archive;- Gill,Colin". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Frances Spalding (1990). 20th Century Painters and Sculptors. Antique Collectors' Club. ISBN 1 85149 106 6.
- ^ Art in Parliament. "King Alfred's long-ships defeat the Danes, 877". www.parliament.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
External links
- Artworks by or after Colin Gill at the Art UK site