Matthew Collins was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1970. Nurtured in
an artistic family, his enthusiasm for art was encouraged from the
earliest age. By his early teens, his study of drawing had already begun
under the tutelage of his father, James Edward Collins, an
award-winning architect.
Collins was accepted and studied briefly at the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago where he focused on drawing, etching and
sculpture. He finished numerous copies from the Art Institute’s
collection, including inspirational works by Goya, Ingres, Corot, Manet,
Whistler and Sargent. Matthew completed a B A in the History of Art
and Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 1994
he traveled to Florence, Italy to finish his studies with the American
painter Charles H. Cecil.
For over 15 years, Matthew has been living in Italy studying and researching the classical techniques painting and sculpture. An artist of unusually wide breadth, his oil paintings, frescos and
sculptures reveal a rigorous study of the masterworks of the past and a
deep observation of nature. Not limited to a single genre his oeuvre
includes portraiture, landscape, decoration and figurative subjects.
Matthew divides his time between Italy and Chicago. He exhibits
internationally and his works represented in public and private
collections throughout the United States and Europe. He is also a
contributing writer for the Epoch Times New York Edition.
