Marcus Collin

Gustaf Marcus Collin (18 November 1882, Helsinki – 22 September 1966, Kauniainen) was an artist from Finland. He was one of the central members of the Novemberists, a group of Finnish expressionists.

Collin was born in Helsinki to an educated, Swedish-speaking family. His father was a civil servant. His future as an artist was not at first obvious. He studied law, but did not want to become a civil servant in the Finland as A Grand Duchy ruled by Russia. He worked as a journalist, and tried to study architecture, but found the mathematics classes too challenging. Then he changed his studies to study art, first in Helsinki, later in Paris. He made four extended trips in continental Europe, and on his fourth visit to Paris he enrolled in Académie Ranson, where he was taught by Paul Sérusier. Sérusier drew his attention to composition, and for a while even the use of colour in Collin's work showed the influence of Sérusier. The paintings of life in the Finnish archipelago, painted in bright colours, were Collin's final breakthrough as an artist. He portrayed factory workers and farmhands as faceless representatives of their social class.

Collin was given an honorary title of professor in 1953.