Alan Collins (sculptor)

Updated on Jan 18, 2024

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Nationality British Education Royal College of Art Role Artist		Name Alan Collins Website Alan Collins' website

Born 1928 Beddington, Surrey, England Elected Fellow of Royal Academy Awards Royal British Society of Sculptors Spouse Aliki Collins (m. 1993), Jeanne Collins (m. ?–1992)

Alan Collins (15 August 1928 – 18 October 2016) was an English-born sculptor noted for his work at Guildford Cathedral. After continuing his career in England, Collins moved to the United States and continued working there as an artist and, for more than 20 years, as a professor of art at Seventh-day Adventist universities.

Alan Collins (sculptor) Adventist Review Online Alan Collins Sculptor of Silent Sermons

Collins work primarily focused on evocative Biblical stories told in outdoor sculptures, which has been described as "24-hour, 365-days-a-year silent sermons."

Early life

Alan Collins (sculptor) gleanernowcomsitesgleanernowcomfilesstylesg

Collins was born in the village of Beddington, in northeast Surrey, England. He naturally took to art as a child as a way to spend his time and a means of communication: when it was difficult to explains something he'd seen in words, he was more successful communicating in images. At the age of 16, after attending public schools, Collins entered Wimbledon School of Art. While there he earned first prize in a contest that spanned the country of England. Having won a scholarship for the Royal College of Art, he studied sculpture.

Collins developed a lifelong connection to the Adventist Church after having attended a meeting by Australian evangelist Thomas J. Bradley in Corydon, England.

Career

When Collins first began carving in stone he used Malta stone, which was in great supply during and after World War II as it had been used by supply ships as ballast when the ships returned to England with otherwise empty load.

His work was exhibited at the Royal Society for the Arts and the Royal Academy, one of which was a Maltese stone sculpture Head of a King that Collins exhibited in 1946 at Exhibition 20 by the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society when he was a student at Wimbledon College of Art. Collins was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.

He received the Society's Sir Otto Beit Medal in 1964 for his stone carving of St. Martha of Bethany at Guildford Cathedral.

In 1968 Collins moved to the United States and began a more than 20-year career teaching at Seventh-day Adventists universities, including Atlantic Union College (1968–1971) in Massachusetts, Andrews University (1971–1978) in Michigan and La Sierra University (1978–1989) in California. As a result of his years of work teaching at Adventist universities, he developed a "signature style" that is attributed to Adventist college works.

Having retired from teaching, Collins worked in Phoenix, Oregon on his own works made in many mediums: bronze, wood, clay, wood, concrete and stone. Collins, who created many works for the Adventist Church, also conducted lectures and showed his work at Adventist colleges.

He moved back to England in 2013, and lived in Bridport, Dorset until his death.

Works

Aside from Collins' work at Guildford Cathedral, he executed other works in England before moving to the United States. Most notably he designed and carved the John F. Kennedy Memorial at Runnymede. In the United States he created sculptures largely for religious organisations, commissions from hospitals and private individuals.

Guildford Cathedral

Collins made a number of works for Guildford Cathedral. A statue of Archangel Gabriel, made by Collins, is located at the eastern end of the Lady Chapel. He also made the sculptures of St Catherine and St Martha. Collins's works includes

Alan never used any models for his sculptures, they were all created using his own imagination. He was noted for being very knowledgeable of human anatomy and he always taught human anatomy to his sculpture students. This information came from his second Wife Aliki Collins. Gilded Angel. Sitting on the cathedral's tower, Gilded Angel is made of copper and gilded with gold leaf. Although the 4.5-metre (15 foot) tall sculpture weighs about one ton, its being mounted on ball bearings allows it to turn with shifting wind directions. Collins created the scale model of the angel in gold on the top of the tower and the font. His external works included a series of statues, such as Charity, Prudence, Courage and more.

Biblical scenes

La Sierra University – In 2002 Collins created the outdoor sculpture entitled The Glory of God. Considering it one of his best pieces, Collins said that it was: “The chance to show the nature of God through a piece.”

Loma Linda University – A sandblast glass relief based on Collins' original bronze sculpture Good Samaritan for Loma Linda University resides in the foyer of the Center for Dentistry and Orthodontics. The work illustrates the story from Luke of "a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho" and was robbed. It symbolises the guiding principle "to make man whole" and is congruent with the university's motto. It was unveiled during the School of Dentistry's annual Alumni-Student Convention on 10 February 2012.

Loma Linda University – Collins created the sculpture Who Touched Me?, which was a by Dr Rueben Matiko, MD, a philanthropist. Matiko was able to realise his wish of having a depiction the stories of Luke chapter 8 and Matthew chapter 9 told through art in the unveiling of the life-size bronze sculpture on 20 October 2010 at Loma Linda University. The keen interest was drawing the connection between the power of faith and touch in healing.

Loma Linda University – Illustrative of the story of the prodigal son, Collin's sculpture is named Glory of God's Grace.

Oakwood University – In 2005 Collins completed the sculpture Sacrificial Service, which represents Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross for Jesus' crucification, for Oakwood University which is located in Huntsville, Alabama.

Andrews University – Collins created a sculpture to depict the John Nevins Andrews family, the first Adventist missionaries who would establish the first Adventist Church in Switzerland. Symbolizing service, Legacy of Leadership depicts the Andrews family leaving for Europe in 1874 and is located near the Pioneer Memorial Church.

Andrews University – Regeneration (1975) stands in front of the campus Science complex.

Walla Walla University – Collins was commissioned by the class of 1950 to create a bronze commemorating their 50th anniversary. His work, Jesus Among Us, is a bronze statue that depicts foot-washing of disciples feet by Jesus. "Jesus Among Us" was created to bring to life the university's "Generosity of Service" mission statement, which says that "Walla Walla University (WWU) is a community of faith dedicated to excellence in thought, generosity in service, beauty in expression and faith in God."

Canadian University College – The centrepiece of the Administration Building lobby is Collins' newest piece, entitled The Sower. An Alberta representation of Jesus' Parable of the Sower, this work represents the heart of the university mission to go into the world and preach the gospel and captures the Western Canadian heritage of the grain fields. Dressed in the clothing of a settler from Lacombe, Alberta's early days, seeding his crop by hand, the statue represents the beginnings of both the province of Alberta and Canadian University College. As faculty and staff have sowed into the lives of students, so they too will sow God's grace and love wherever they go throughout the world. It was officially unveiled during Alumni Weekend Celebrations on Friday, 7 June 2013.

Contemporary religious art

The First Advent depicts It Came Upon a Midnight Clear at the South Lancaster, Massachusetts Atlantic Union College.

Three Angels of the Apocalypse in St. Albans, England, the "first public sculpture commissioned by the Adventist Church".

Three Angels of the Apocalypse, a different version of the same theme as the St. Albans work, is located in Lincoln, Nebraska on the Union College administrative building.

The Flame, "that Fire which leads", is located within the sermon hall of the Bay Knoll Adventist Church in Rochester, New York.

Of his work, Collins wrote:

Fire is perhaps the most memorable visual form by which God has made His presence known to men. The burning bush, the guiding pillar of fire, the all-consuming fire on Mount Carmel, the tongues of fire at Pentecost and the eventual purification of the world by fire are pictures that come quite readily to mind. Being symbolic, my representation of fire became formalized, differing from the fluctuating form of fire itself. An artist may frequently attempt to make a visual analogy between differing visual forms, creating a bridge that will unite seemingly disparate qualities to form a new reality. In bringing together the two-halves of my design I trapped a space that outlines the form of a wheat ear, the wheat that God will harvest when the chaff has all been burned. At the center of the design is a calm, stable form in clear plexiglass which I think of as the quiet flame of God's presence – the still small voice at the heart of every fiery experience.

Other works

The following is a partial list of Collins' other works.

England

Head of a King that Collins exhibited in 1946 at Exhibition 20 by the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society when he was a student at Wimbledon College of Art.

Inscription on Runnymede Memorial for Kennedy Memorial Trust

Minerva is an abstract sculpture made of aluminium. It is situated on a concrete plinth outside of Minerva House in London.

One New Change work was obtained through the Richard Coleman Consultancy.

Chessboard, picking up the theme of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers "chess knight" logo, was made from Portland Stone by Collins in 1963 for the publishers offices at St Paul's House, Warwick Lane, London, England. Collins was commissioned the work through Victor Heal and Partners.

At the St. Clement Dane Church, the City of London is a memorial to an 18th-century couple, Francis and Catherine Sirr. Replacing the original destroyed during World War II, it is located in the crypt and made of Portland stone.

Seven portrait masks on keystones above the nave arcades in St. Mary-Le-Bow church, the City of London.

Stone figure of the patron saint of sailors above the entrance to St. Nicholas' Church in Saltdean, Sussex.

Replacement of the Royal Coat-of-Arms of King Charles above the portico of All Saints' Church in Northampton.

Sculptures at Bradford Cathedral, Yorkshire.

A work above the Grays Inn Law School doorway in London that depicts a lion, griffon and eagle in limestone.

United States

At a library Jacksonville County, Oregon, Collins inscribed the building with Roman-style lettering.

Awards and exhibitions

For his Guildford Cathedral stone sculpture work, Collins was awarded first prize for a Commonwealth wide sculpture contest and received the Royal British Society of Sculptors Sir Otto Beit Medal.

Collins was awarded in 1988 the first honorary degree bestowed by the Adventist Church for recognition of his work.

In the early 2000s he was awarded a second honorary doctorate degree by Loma Linda University, California.

In 2004 Collins exhibited in Florence, Italy at International Biennale of Contemporary Art.

Personal life

After beginning his career in England, Collins moved to the United States in 1968 with his wife Jeanne and their daughter and son. They first lived in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. They moved to Michigan in 1971, where Collins taught at Andrews University (a Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs.) In 1978 Collins and his family moved to California where Collins taught for 11 years at La Sierra University (another Seventh-day Adventist university that was located in Riverside.)

Collins' wife Jeanne Fuegi suffered a long battle with cancer and died in 1992. In 1993, Collins married his second wife Aliki (Greek for English: Alice). After his retirement from sculpting, he moved to Bridport, Dorset, England.