Alan Collins (sculptor)
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, 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 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 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 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. 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' 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' most extensive work was created for the exterior of Guildford Cathedral, including: Other works. The following is a partial list of Collins' other works. 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 After his retirement from sculpting, he moved to Bridport, Dorset, England.