Colin Unwin Gill (1892 –1940) – British artist – WW1 war artist

Colin Unwin Gill was born at Bexleyheath in Kent, UK on 12th May 1892.  His parents were George Joseph Gill, who worked for the Metropolitan Water Board, and his wife, Sarah Sharey Gill, nee Driver.  Colin’s siblings were Alan Streatfield Gill, b. 1896 and David Ashdown Gill, b. 1904. By 1911, the family were living in Sevenoaks, Kent.  Colin was a cousin of Eric Gill (1882 – 1940), who became a sculptor

Colin studied art 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.

When war broke out in 1914, Colin was commissioned into the Royal Garrison Artillery and was posted to the Western Front as a Second Lieutenant with the 17th Heavy Battery.  In 1916, he was seconded to the Royal Engineers in order to work as a camouflage officer.  In March 1918, Colin was sent back to Britain, suffering from exposure to poison gas, where he recuperated in the Hospital for Officers on the Isle of Wight.

In May 1918, Colin volunteered to work as a war artist but was turned down and continued to work as a camouflage instructor.  He returned to France on 7th November 1918 visiting Mons hours after it had been retaken by the Allies.

In 1919, Colin married Phyllis Seyler Andrews.

After the war, Colin  returned to the British School in Rome. In 1939, he received a commission to paint murals at the Johannesburg Magistrates' Courts and died  in South Africa on 16th November November 1940.

WW1 Paintings: Portrait of a Gunner and Heavy Artillery.