Originally a designer of movie sets, painter Colleen Browning is best known for her realistic depictions of human interactions in their environment. Although she employs a wide range of subject matter, the style of her work is often reminiscent of Social and Magic Realism. Browning was born in England in 1918 and attended the Slade School of Art in London, England for two years, 1937 to 1939, graduating with honors, before moving to New York City in 1949. It was after her arrival in New York that her painting career truly started. Following the initial exhibition by the Hewitt Gallery in New York City, institutions that have displayed her work include the ACA Gallery in New York City; Art institute of Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland Museum, Ohio; Indianapolis Museum, Indiana; National Academy of Design, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York.

Browning's artwork is part of the permanent collections of the Columbia Museum in South Carolina; Detroit Art Institute, Michigan; Milwaukee Art Center, Wisconsin; New York State Museum in Albany; and the St. Louis Art Museum in Missouri.