Ian Collins is an award-winning writer, specialising in the history of art, particularly that of East Anglia. His eagerly-awaited 2024 biography, Blythe Spirit: the Remarkable Life of Ronald Blythe, draws on personal conversations with his friend as well as referencing letters, notebooks and Ronald’s published works. Ian has published numerous books, including monographs on John Craxton, Rose Hilton, Joan Leigh Fermor, and Guy Taplin. He wrote Tide Lines about James Dodds and last year won the Creative Suffolk Author Award for James Dodds: the Blue Boat. As well as writing about the arts for the Eastern Daily Press, he has worked with the Aldeburgh Festival; for the Sainsbury Centre; the British Museum and the Yale Center for British Art.