William Crozier studied with Gillies at ECA from 1916. On graduating he received the RSA Carnegie Scholarship and in 1923 he travelled with Gillies to Paris, where he learnt cubist approaches to painting and composition in the studio of Andre Lhote. From here he proceeded to Italy with Gillies, sketching and painting as they went.
Crozier is widely credited with bringing cubism to Scotland in the early twentieth century and Italian Village is an early painting in this new style. One of Gillies’ closest artist friends, Crozier’s tragic early death was the first of many that Gillies had to cope with over his lifetime.