Alan Collins (sculptor)


Alan Collins 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. 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.
At a Seventh-day Adventist Church in Holloway, London, Collins met his future wife Jeanne Fuegi, they got married in 1954.

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 in Massachusetts, Andrews University in Michigan and La Sierra University 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 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

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

England

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 In 1978 Collins and his family moved to California where Collins taught for 11 years at La Sierra University
Collins' 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.