Alan Collins

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."

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. 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.

In 1964 Collins was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors 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". statues of St Catherine and St Martha on the buttresses of the Lady Chapel. and the font. nine statues of Christian virtues and Gifts of the Spirit: Charity, Courage, Temperance, Prudence, Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude and Knowledge.

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. 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. 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. for Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama. 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) 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.". 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," is the centrepiece of the Administration Building lobby at the Alberta university.

Contemporary religious art

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

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