Cecil Collins MBE, British 1908-1989 - Mesopotamian Head, 1964; oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left 'Cecil Collins 1964' and inscribed verso '78/20 McKenzie Smith', 10 x 15 cm (ARR) Provenance: Bryce Mackenzie-Smith (author of Cecil Collins:...

Cecil Collins MBE, British 1908-1989 - Mesopotamian Head, 1964; oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left 'Cecil Collins 1964' and inscribed verso '78/20 McKenzie Smith', 10 x 15 cm (ARR) Provenance: Bryce Mackenzie-Smith (author of Cecil Collins: The Great Happiness); Talisman Fine Art, London; where purchased by the present owner in 2008 Cecil Collins’s work appeared in the seminal 1936 International Surrealist Exhibition at the New Burlington Arcade in London, although he soon stepped away from the movement creating, along with his wife Elisabeth Collins, his own idiosyncratic, mystical style influenced by his friend Mark Toeby and Eastern religion. This work is a wonderful example of his visionary mature style, the figure caught between solidity and ethereality. His works appear in all major UK collections.