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.
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 Collins was born in the village of Beddington, in northeast Surrey, England. At the age of 16, after attending public schools, Collins entered Wimbledon School of Art. While there he earned first prize in an England-wide competition. 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. At a Seventh-day Adventist Church in Holloway, London, Collins met his wife Jeanne Fuegi, and they were married in 1954.
Career When Collins first began carving in stone he used limestone from Malta, which was in great supply during and after World War II as it had been used by supply ships as ballast when returning to England without cargo.
His sculptures were exhibited at the Royal Society for the Arts and the Royal Academy,Appendix section about Alan Collins. City of London, Planning. p. 1. Retrieved 17 August 2012. one of which was Head of a King, in Maltese stone, exhibited in 1946 at Exhibition 20 by the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society when he was a student at Wimbledon College of Art.Head of a King. Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851–1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
In 1964 Collins was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors and received the Society's Sir Otto Beit Medal for his stone carving of St. Martha of Bethany at Guildford Cathedral.
In 1968 he moved to the United States and began a career of over 20 years, teaching at Seventh-day Adventists universities, including Atlantic Union College (1968–1971) in Massachusetts, Andrews University (1971–1978) in Michigan, and Loma Linda University (La Sierra Campus) (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.
After retiring from teaching, Collins worked in Phoenix, Oregon on his own works made in many mediums: bronze, wood, clay, wood, concrete and stone. He created many works for the Adventist Church, and 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's 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. He never used 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.
Guildford Cathedral
Collins's most extensive work was created for the exterior of Guildford Cathedral, including: The Hand of God, visible at the approach to the cathedral. Surrounded by the moon, stars and the sun, the offered hand represents an "invitation from God to be a part of the Christian Community". a statue of Archangel Gabriel, at the eastern end of the Lady Chapel.Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford. British Listed Buildings. English Heritage Building ID 289097. Retrieved 17 August 2012. statues of St Catherine and St Martha on the buttresses of the Lady Chapel. atop the cathedral's tower, Gilded Angel, made of copper and gilded with gold leaf; although the 4.5-metre (15 foot) tall sculpture, constructed by Hurst, Franklin & Co of Islington, weighs about one ton, it is mounted on ball bearings allowing it to turn with shifting wind directions. Collins created the scale model of the angel in gold on the top of the towerGuildford Cathedral, the Golden Angel on the tower. Surrey History Centre archives. Reference Number: PC 00072 ALB00300152. Retrieved 17 August 2012. and the font.About Guildford Cathedral. Pictures of England.com. Retrieved 17 August 2012. nine statues of Christian virtues and Gifts of the Spirit: Charity, Courage, Temperance, Prudence, Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude and Knowledge.Mullions, Guildford Cathedral. Courtauld Institute of Art: Art and Architecture. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
Seventh-day Adventist Campuses
Andrews University – Collins created two works on the campus. His 1975 sculpture, Regeneration, a looping, concrete ribbon resembling the DNA molecule, is located on the patio of the Science Complex. In 1998, he completed the sculpture, Legacy of Leadership, depicting the family of John Nevins Andrews, the first Adventist foreign missionary, for whom the University is named.Adventist Pioneer Honored: J. N. Andrews Sculpture Unveiling Adventist News Network Retrieved October 17, 2018 Loma Linda University – Collins's 7'3" limestone sculpture, Good Samaritan, on the campus mall was unveiled in 1981 . After being vandalized in 1983 and its restoration deteriorating from smog, the sculpture was recast in bronze and rededicated in 1995. The work adapts the familiar parable from Luke 10: 29-37 in a contemporary interpretation and conveys the University's motto, "to make man whole." A sandblast glass relief based on the original sculpture has also resided in the Center for Dentistry and Orthodontics since 2012.Ponder, James. (27 October 2010). "'Who Touched Me?' sculpture unveiled at Loma Linda University." Loma Linda University: Today. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 15 August 2012.Terwillegar, Rachel. 19 April 2012. Good Samaritan sandblast sculpture unveiled. Loma Linda University School of Dentistry. Retrieved 17 August 2012.J. N. Andrews Sculpture Points Students to Mission. St. Andrews University: Pioneer Memorial Church. Retrieved 17 August 2012. Collins also created the life-size, campus sculpture Who Touched Me? in 2010, depicting the Gospel story of a woman healed by touching Jesus's clothes.The story is embedded in the narrative of Jesus and Jairus's daughter (Matt 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56). La Sierra University – In 2002, Collins created the campus sculpture entitled The Glory of God's Grace, depicting Jesus's parable of "The Man with Two Sons," commonly called "The Parable of the Prodigal Son," from Luke 15:11-32. Considering it one of his best pieces, Collins said that it was: “The chance to show the nature of God through a piece.” Oakwood University – In 2005, Collins completed the sculpture Sacrificial Service, which depicts Simon of Cyrene carrying Jesus's cross to the site of the crucifixion,Matt 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26. for Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama.Oliver, Ansel. (13 April 2004 ). World Church: Sculptor, an Adventist, Celebrates God's Creations Adventist News Network. Retrieved 17 August 2012. Walla Walla University – Collins was commissioned by the class of 1950 to create a bronze commemorating their 50th anniversary in 2010. His work, Jesus Among Us, is a bronze statue depicting Jesus washing his disciples' feet (John 13:1-20)Jesus Among Us – Celebrating Generosity in Service Walla Walla University. Retrieved 15 August 2012. that encapsulates "Generosity in Service" from the University's mission statement: "Walla Walla University is a community of faith dedicated to excellence in thought, generosity in service, beauty in expression and faith in God.".Jorgenson, Jennifer. Jesus Among Us. Walla Walla University. Retrieved 15 August 2012. Burman University (formerly Canadian University College) – Unveiled on 7 June 2013 during Alumni Weekend, Collin's last work, The Sower, a representation of Jesus's "Parable of the Sower,"Matt 13:1-9, 18-23; Mark 4:1-9, 13-20; Luke 8:4-8, 11-15. is the centrepiece of the Administration Building lobby at the Alberta university.Personal communications, CUC Advancement, 30 May 2013Joy Fehr, Alumni Weekend Dedication, 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 this work, Collins wrote:
Other works
The following is a partial list of Collins's 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 between Minerva House and Southwark Cathedral in London.Cavanagh, Terry. (December 2009). Minerva. Source is: Public Sculpture of South London; 2007, p219. Retrieved 17 August 2012. 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.Chessboard. Courtauld Institute of Art: Art and Architecture. Retrieved 17 August 2012. 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.Heraldry and Lettering: Memorial to an 18th Century Couple. Alan Collins Gallery. Seven portrait masks on keystones above the nave arcades in St. Mary-Le-Bow church, the City of London.Meilach, Dona Z. (1970). Contemporary stone sculpture:aesthetics, methods, appreciation. Crown Publishers. p. 120. Stone figure of the patron saint of sailors above the entrance to St. Nicholas' Church in Saltdean, Sussex.St. Nicholas' Church. Saltdean.info. Retrieved 17 August 2012. Replacement of the Royal Coat-of-Arms of King Charles above the portico of All Saints' Church in Northampton.Churches: All Saints' Church Collinsculptor. Retrieved 17 August 2012. Sculptures at Bradford Cathedral, Yorkshire.Bradford Cathedral. Visit Bradford. Retrieved 17 August 2012. 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