Renowned artist and lecturer Peter Collins

Artist and retired art lecturer Peter Collins RSA, who devoted his later life to researching Italian masters, has died aged 88.

He taught art at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee, from the mid-1960s when he was elected a fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy.

His paintings were exhibited across Scotland and his work is held in major collections including the Mcmanus, Dundee, Aberdeen Art Gallery, and by the Scottish Arts Council.

Peter lived latterly near Inchture and had been working on a book about the misattribution of work held by major collections to Botticelli and Mantegna.

His friend, artist Jim Dunbar, who was a pupil of Peter’s, said: “He had been working on a manuscript when he died. Peter had studied many of the paintings held in major collections and was able to detect anomalies in style or inconsistencies.

“He believed some of these works had been wrongly attributed to the masters or in some cases, some of the subjects within the paintings had not been painted by the master but by their pupils.

“He did write to some of those in charge of these collections without any positive response. I would like to think that Peter’s research will be published some day.

“It is important to remember that he approached his study as an artist and not an art historian who may have been quoting a misattribution from a century or more before.”

Peter Godfrey Collins was born in Inverness in June 1935, the middle of three children of Edwin Godfrey Collins, a prominent ear, nose and throat surgeon, and his wife Elizabeth, nee Baird.

Peter’s elder brother was Edwyn Patrick Collins, an RAF doctor who died in 2002, and his younger sister, Gillian Booth, is a retired audiologist.

The family moved to Aberdeen where Peter began at primary school before completing his secondary education at Fettes College in Edinburgh.

He studied at Edinburgh Art College under John Maxwell between 1952 and 1956 and then gained a post-diploma scholarship and an Andrew Grant Major travelling scholarship in 1957 to study in Italy.

He met his future wife, Myra Mackintosh, at Edinburgh Art College; they married and had two children – Edwyn, who has a career in the music business, and Petra Collins, a retired sheriff.

Peter began teaching at Edinburgh Royal High School before taking up his post at Duncan of Jordanstone where he was a contemporary of Alberto Morrocco, David Mcclure, Jack Knox, Dennis Buchan and James Morrison among others.

In 1970 he featured in a Scottish Arts Council Exhibition called Seven Painters in Dundee along with Neil Dallas Brown, Dennis Buchan, Ian Fearn, James Howie, James Morrison and Jack Knox.

Over the years Peter, a professional member of the Society of Scottish Artists, showed in major exhibitions including in Northern Ireland and Glasgow.

Among his work held at the Mcmanus in Dundee is Consider The Lilies, painted in 1971 showing a single arum lily against a likeness of St Veronica’s veil, minus the image of Christ.

Peter and Myra later divorced and he had lived in recent years in the Carse of Gowrie with his partner, Sonya. An accomplished pianist in both classical and jazz he maintained a keen interest in art, music and antiques, particularly Chinese teapots.

Mr Dunbar said: “I regarded Peter as a mentor. We had a very close relationship and he was the best tutor I ever had.

“He treated students as individuals and would tailor his approach to each student’s needs. Even in June this year he was able to offer constructive criticism of my latest work.”

Peter is survived by Sonya, Edwyn, his son William, Petra and her children William and Holly.

DEVOTED: Peter Collins at work, above, pictured in his younger years, top right, and his piece Consider The Lilies which is held at the Mcmanus.