Britt Taylor Collins gets his love of the American military honestly. On the Collins side, Uncle Bob and Uncle Boyce served in WW2 aboard or servicing B-17 Flying Fortresses. And on the Taylor side, Uncle Jesse landed with the first wave on D-Day’s Omaha Beach, and lived to tell about it. Further, Britt was born in a United States Army Hospital. On that day, 30 April 1954, history would later record that half way around the world, the war in Vietnam officially began when the Viet Minh laid siege to the French garrison at Dien Bein Phu. As Providence would have it, the last helicopter departed the U.S. Embassy roof in Saigon, officially ending the Vietnam War on Britt’s twenty-first birthday, 30 April 1975.

As Providence would again intervene, Britt was denied military service because of severe near-sightedness and opted to pursue a formal fine art education at Virginia Commonwealth University where he studied graphic design, illustration, and photography. In 1976, Britt Taylor Collins completed a four-year degree in the Communication Arts where he benefited from such instructors as Ed Bedno, who later became the Design Curator for the Air Space Museum, and Phillip Meggs, whose book, "The History of Graphic Design", has become the standard textbook in the field. Even before graduating, Britt was recognized by New York's Society of Illustrators for excellence in student achievement.

While attending school the artist met Patricia Hamilton, one of VCU’s legendary female swimmers. (Patty’s times were such that she made the time trials for the Olympics, missing the American Swim Team by several thousandths of a second.) Britt and Patty would be married by Patty’s previous employer, Jeffrey Ethell. Here the hand of Providence held many aces.

In the following years Britt would work for ad agencies and book publishers from Richmond to Chicago to Atlanta. But the freelance life would largely be Britt’s preference, and he illustrated magazine and book covers, working with virtually every major Christian publisher in America. His artwork has graced the covers of such respected authors as Norman Vincent Peale, Max Lucado, Ron Rhodes, and R. C. Sproul. Most notable is his design and illustration work for Multnomah's 26-book Critical Concern Series. He has been the art director for Inter-Varsity's "HIS Magazine", illustrated covers for "Christianity Today", created Gene Sitter's "Christian Citizen" magazine, and designed "Inside Journal", the nation's first in-prison news publication.

It was here that Britt’s life would begin to change.
Work done earlier in his career for Jeffrey Ethell, arguably the foremost aviation historian in America, prepared Britt for the rigors of historical accuracy necessary for military artwork, and for the day that his father-in-law, the late Lt. Col. Edward S. Hamilton, would commission him to paint “Closing the Gap”. This epic oil painting memorializes the 90th Infantry Division's contribution to the final battles of the Normandy Campaign, and Limited Edition prints of this piece can be seen in the Musee’ du Normandie on Utah Beach, and in five museums here in the States.

There would be no looking back. Britt, having incoporated his talents into his abiding interest in the military would, from this point on, dedicate himself to serve the military with his art. Since this time Britt Taylor Collins has created work for the Department of Defense, The United States Army and Army Reserve, The United States Marine Corps, WW2 Associations, and private benefactors both here and in Europe.

Britt’s work can be seen in the following collections:
90th Regional Support Command HQ, Little Rock, AR
The New Field Artillery Museum, Ft. Sill, Oklahoma
The Infantry Museum, Ft. Benning, Georgia
Medal of Honor Museum, Charleston, South Carolina
Musee de Normandie, Utah Beach, France
The White House Collection, Washington, DC
NCEES Headquarters, Clemson, South Carolina
Le Horizon Chalet, Thionville, France
Hotel de Ville, Hayanne, France
Hotel de Ville, Mayenne, France
Kotzting Rathaus, Bad Kotzting, Germany
Veteran’s Memorial Museum, Branson, Missouri

In 2007 Britt was officially inducted into the United States Army Reserve, having been sworn in by MG James E. Rafferty. Britt completed one term in this Army/Civilian position where he served as the Army Reserve Ambassador for the State of Georgia, carrying a protocol rank equal to a Major General. On 12 May 2011, the Georgia General Assembly read into the official record and adopted House Bill 915, which recognized Mr. Collins in 8 different areas of service to the United States military and to her veterans. Britt lives in Berkeley Lake with his wife Patricia, herself a veteran of Desert Storm. They have 3 grown sons, two of whom are Navy veterans.

For more on Britt Taylor Collins go to www.britttaylorcollins.com