Paul Collins (artist)

Last updated

Paul Lamar Collins (born December 11, 1936) is an American realist painter. Collins is known for his skillful use of textures, light, and attention to detail.

Contents

Heritage

African/American Indian/European

Childhood/early career

The art of Paul Collins grew out of his study, long experimentation, and determination. He was born in Muskegon, Michigan and moved to Grand Rapids at a very young age. Paul went to school in Ada and Grand Rapids Michigan. He was discouraged from taking art seriously because of its seemingly "impractical" potential as a future career.

Collins spent his youth growing up in a predominantly black neighborhood. He found encouragement and influence from Randy Brown, a highly educated artist and poet who came from the south, persuaded him to pursue a career in art. Brown's studio was near Collins’ home, and while Paul was still in school he often visited it. About this time he first tried painting in oils, a medium he now prefers most. His interest in the oil medium led him to absorb all he could read about the techniques and chemistry of paints. He tried watercolors and tempera and even experimented briefly with acrylics. Oil and pencil, however, remain the foundation of his technique.

After Collins graduated from high school, he and Brown started a business called Ran-Col. Their general design studio gave Collins an opportunity to develop his talent for design, layout and lettering. Large scale super-graphics were a specialty of the studio. This allowed Paul to keep his technical skills sharp.

It was around this same time that Collins began to sell his paintings at art fairs. He was always disturbed by the stereotypical way blacks were usually portrayed with oversized lips and eyes popping out that he chose to paint large pieces depicting black faces. He soon launched a two-year sojourn to West Africa to paint a cultural series depicting a part of his ancestry.

Career

1960s and 1970s

In 1969 Paul traveled to West Africa with his eldest son Michael, where Paul studied and portrayed the Senegalese and Gambian people in their native environment. The resulting series entitled, "Black Portrait of an African Journey" was exhibited throughout Africa, Europe and the United States. The series was well received by critics. As the Detroit Free Press noted, "The immediate result of the African trip was the establishment of Collins’ name as a potent new view visual commentator on the human condition." Many of the paintings were featured in the movie titled "Save the Children" released by Paramount in 1972. The Senegalese government named a street, Rue Monsieur Paul Collins, in his honor.

A few years later while at the United Nations conference with Unicef in New York he was invited by Chief Fools Crow from the Pine Ridge Reservation to come and live with them and portray another part of his ancestry. So in 1972, Collins relocated to the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Indian reservations of South Dakota to document the current state of the American Indian. The thirty painting series "Other voices- A Native American Tableau" opened in New York and exhibited Paris.

During this time Collins found himself acting as a diplomatic liaison between the Sioux Indians and the United States government. With the help of Michigan representative, and friend, Guy Vanderjagt, the Sioux and other tribes honored Collins by making him a full brother, naming him: "Bright Eagle". Collins wrote and illustrated an article about the experiences in Ebony Magazine, June 1973.

In 1975, Collins was commissioned to create an 18 x 8  ft. mural of Grand Rapids native, President Gerald R. Ford. The mural is exhibited at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport, and reveals various facets of Ford's personal life as a President of the United States; an athlete, a father, and a husband. The mural attracted national attention and received critical acclaim for its "strong and dignified presentation of Gerald R. Ford". The mural and individual images are published in the book, Gerald R. Ford- A Man in Perspective, (Eerdmans, 1976).

1980s

In 1981, Collins’ created the "Ford Museum Commemorative Poster" in honor of the opening of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

For Anheuser-Busch's 10th Anniversary celebration, Collins was a contributor to the company's "Great Kings of Africa". Collins "Shaka, King of Zulus", completed in 1976, was one of the first four portraits commissioned for the series highlighting the historical contributions of great African leaders. Collins was featured in a Budweiser TV commercial commemorating the original airing of "Roots".

One year later, Collins premiered "The Special Olympics Collection" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The eight-piece series remains at the center where it is on permanent exhibit. Collins spent almost three years attending international games, sketching children, assisting the coaches and participating in the medal awards ceremonies. The collection was created to find new ways to raise funds because the previous efforts were no longer sufficient.

"Great Beautiful Black Women", a record of the journey of black women from their African origins to the present day, premiered at the Chicago Cultural Center in 1978. The Chicago unveiling was witnessed by driving forces in cultural evolution such as Rosa Parks, Wilma Rudolph, and Coretta Scott King. [1] The collection was originally scheduled to tour for two years, but its journey was extended to five years, again due to its immense popularity. It highlighted the roles of many black women who were involved in the Civil Rights Movement that changed the United States forever.

In 1979, Collins started an ever-growing collection of works entitled "Contributions to the History of the United States of America". The series showcases individuals who symbolize the struggle of human dignity and human rights such as Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks and Liberty and Justice, a mural symbolizing historical moments of the shaping of the United States. The painting depicting "Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad" has become a national icon. This image is used in history books, school books, children's books, and museums. Well over a million posters have been sold worldwide. Pieces of this collection are on permanent display at the Van Andel Museum and Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan.

Moving on to portray ‘ordinary’ people engaged in ‘extra’-ordinary activities, Collins completed the "America at Work" series in 1983. It was first exhibited at the Great Hall of the United States Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. The popularity of this series continues to grow, as does the collection, with new pieces gradually being added. The collection is on permanent exhibit at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

In 1987, Collins’ travels took him to the Middle East. The result: "The Voices of Israel". The images shed light upon the unique mesh of cultures and religions that comprise the traditionally-rooted, yet newly forming identity of the nation. With no political or religious affiliations, Collins captures the people of Israel on their own terms. The twenty-five piece collection toured Israel and the United States under the auspices of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. During his two-year stay, Collins was commissioned to create a mural to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Israel by the Association for Promoting Tourism.

1989 marked Collins’ return to African soil to complete the series entitled "Kenya: In the Beginning" commissioned by the Bartek Corporation, capturing the individual qualities of the Turkana, Samburu, and Maasai tribes. The series of fifteen paintings were unveiled in Kenya and has been used in various fundraising venues. The collection hangs at the headquarters of Bartek Corporation in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and Spaulding for Children in Detroit, Michigan.

1990s to present

Collins then answered the call of the Pacific Rim, moving to Omihachiman, Japan in 1994, commissioned by Amway Japan Corporation. Through his immersion in Japanese culture, he created paintings that acted as a bridge of insight for the Western eye, offering a view into the customs, rituals, and harmony of the Japanese people. The collection was unveiled in 1997 at the Megaro Gajoun Museum in Tokyo, Japan and exhibited at the Kawara Museum in Omihachiman, Japan.

In 1998 Collins was honored by a request from the International Peace Center to represent the United States of America with a sixty piece retrospective entitled "Visions", to help reinitiate the annual International Arts Festival in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The theme of the event was "Healing" an effort to erase the scars of war. Opening night at the Collegium Artisticum drew an emotional group of people that had not seen each other since the war ended. During his stay, he served as a goodwill ambassador for the arts community and invited the artists of Banja Luka to rejoin the art program in Sarajevo.

In 2000, he unveiled "Who is Key West?" a series of paintings that captures the flavor of a unique part of the United States of America. Collins knew that visitors came to enjoy the island and the unique personalities that shape the city of Key West, so he immortalizes these characters in a fourteen piece series. The collection was exhibited at the Key West Museum of Art and History, voted Florida's best Museum 2007 – Florida Magazine, through 2014.

In 2004, the "Founders of a Dream Mural" was unveiled in Havana, Cuba at the Simon Bolivar Museum at the inauguration ceremonies of the International Arts Festival. His work from the "Embargo of the Angels" series was also on exhibit at the National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana.

Collins has also designed many distinguished awards and emblems. He is the creator of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Non-Violent Peace Prize Medal commissioned by Coretta Scott King for the centers highest honor. The award has been bestowed upon such leaders as Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, President Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu. He also designed the Challenger 7 Space Shuttle logo commemorating the first U.S. woman in space, and the Presidential Fitness Mural for the President Carter Administration.

His work has been viewed not only in galleries, from the Pushkin Museum in Moscow to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., but also in various libraries, schools, gymnasiums, correctional institutes, community centers, and hospitals. He continues to lecture students, teaching children about other cultures through his art and life experiences. Collins has painted numerous murals on school walls and donated the reproduction rights to scholarship funds. Collins has received many awards for his efforts throughout the years, including the Mead Book Award, The Tadlow Fine Arts Award, The People's Choice Award in Paris, The Golden Centaur of Italy, and the Ceba Award for Excellence. He was marked as one of the top twenty painters in America by the Watson-Guptill Publication. He has also served on a number of executive boards for various organizations, including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board in Atlanta [2] and the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington D.C. [3]

He served as President of the Greater Grand Rapids Fund where he helped raise over $350,000 from various corporations to establish the "Teens Summer Jobs Program" creating over 600 summer jobs. Collins also co-chaired the Grand Rapids Youth Commonwealth Campaign with President Gerald R. Ford and Senator Glenn Steil in a campaign to restore the existing Seidman Youth Center and build an additional center across town.

Exhibitions

World Wide:

Dakar, Senegal; Nairobi, Kenya; Jerusalem, Israel; Lagos, Nigeria; Sarajevo, Bosnia; Freeport, Grand Bahamas; Omihachiman, Japan; Tokyo, Japan; Paris, France; Moscow, Russia; Old Havana, Cuba; Tel Aviv, Israel

United States:

New York; Washington, DC; Ohio; Illinois; Indiana; Virginia, Michigan, Louisiana, Delaware, Massachusetts; Pennsylvania; Maryland; Florida; Georgia; Kentucky; California; Tennessee; Arizona; New Jersey; Minnesota; South Dakota; Vermont

Publications

Books:

"Paths to Freedom" – National Geographic, "Passages to Freedom" – Smithsonian Institution Press, "The Paradox of Loyalty" – Third World Press, "African Americans You Need To Know", Heritage Pub., "Let Freedom Reign" Civil War – Capstone Press, "Alabama the River State", Cahaba Trace Commission, "Biographical Encyclopedia of American Painters", Dealers Choice, "Profiles of Key West", Alama Bond, "The History of the U.A.W.", "The History of the Amway", "Premio Centauro d’ Oro", Accademia Italia, Salsomaggione, "Men of Achievement", Cambridge, England, "Print World Dictionary of Contemporary Art", World Ink., "Literature & Language" Level 12, McDougal Littell Pub., "Literature & Language" Level 18, McDougal Littell Pub., "Compassionate Capitalism", Penguin Books New York, "Who’s Who Among Black Americans" Publishing Company, "Artists of Grand Rapids" J. Gray Sweeney – GR Art Museum, "20 Figure Painters & How They Work", Watson-Guptill, "A Time to Heal", Harper and Rowe Publishing, "Great Beautiful Black Women" Johnson Publishing, Chicago, "A Man In Prospective" Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, "Who’s Who in American Art", R.R. Bowker Pub., New York, "Other Voices – A Native American Tableau" N.A.E.C., "Black Portrait of an African Journey", Eerdmans Publishing, "A Trail to Bear Paw Mountain" Ballantine Historical Novels

Magazines:

Accent, American Artist Cause, Cause, Crisis, Dani, Ebony, Grand Rapids Magazine, Hijatus, International Special Olympic, Insight, Jet, Jewish Gazette, La Revue Moderne, Land & Life, Le Esha, Ma’ariv, Michigan History, National Geographic, Newsweek, Parent, Palette Talk, People, Scholastic News, Sol Y Son, Take Pride, Time, West Michigan Magazine

Film:

"Visions" a retrospective by Paul Collins- Sarajevo, Bosnia – Herzegovina, BBC; "Voices of Israel" Paul Collins- Sunday Morning Show, CBS; "Paul Collins in Israel"- Israeli Films Inc.; "Compassionate Capitalism"- Intaglio Productions; Interview – Paul Collins- The Larry King Show; "Save the Children"- Paramount Pictures; "Free of Eden"- Hallmark Films; "American History – Underground Railroad"- Traige Productions, History Channel; "Foundations of Courage – A Cry to Freedom"- BET; "Break Me My Bounds: - The Paul Laurence Dunbar Story"- Northern Light Production; "Kingpin"- NBC Studios; "Crossings"- Maryland Pub. Television; "Reginald F. Lewis Museum"- Baltimore, MD

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Alston</span> American painter

Charles Henry Alston was an American painter, sculptor, illustrator, muralist and teacher who lived and worked in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem. Alston was active in the Harlem Renaissance; Alston was the first African-American supervisor for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. Alston designed and painted murals at the Harlem Hospital and the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building. In 1990, Alston's bust of Martin Luther King Jr. became the first image of an African American displayed at the White House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob Lawrence</span> American painter

Jacob Armstead Lawrence was an American painter known for his portrayal of African-American historical subjects and contemporary life. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", although by his own account the primary influence was not so much French art as the shapes and colors of Harlem. He brought the African-American experience to life using blacks and browns juxtaposed with vivid colors. He also taught and spent 16 years as a professor at the University of Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Institute of Arts</span> Art museum in Detroit, Michigan

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers 658,000 square feet (61,100 m2) with a major renovation and expansion project completed in 2007 that added 58,000 square feet (5,400 m2). The DIA collection is regarded as among the top six museums in the United States with an encyclopedic collection which spans the globe from ancient Egyptian and European works to contemporary art. Its art collection is valued in billions of dollars, up to $8.1 billion USD according to a 2014 appraisal. The DIA campus is located in Detroit's Cultural Center Historic District, about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the downtown area, across from the Detroit Public Library near Wayne State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Douglas (artist)</span> American painter

Aaron Douglas was an American painter, illustrator and visual arts educator. He was a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance. He developed his art career painting murals and creating illustrations that addressed social issues around race and segregation in the United States by utilizing African-centric imagery. Douglas set the stage for young, African-American artists to enter the public-arts realm through his involvement with the Harlem Artists Guild. In 1944, he concluded his art career by founding the Art Department at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. He taught visual art classes at Fisk until his retirement in 1966. Douglas is known as a prominent leader in modern African-American art whose work influenced artists for years to come.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John T. Biggers</span> African-American muralist

John Thomas Biggers was an African-American muralist who came to prominence after the Harlem Renaissance and toward the end of World War II. Biggers created works critical of racial and economic injustice. He also served as the founding chairman of the art department at Houston's Texas State University for Negroes, a historically black college.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald Ford</span> President of the United States from 1974 to 1977

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected to the office of president or vice president. He previously served as the leader of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives, and was appointed to be the 40th vice president in 1973. When President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, Ford succeeded to the presidency, but was defeated for election to a full term in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hale Woodruff</span> African American artist

Hale Aspacio Woodruff was an American artist known for his murals, paintings, and prints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert S. Duncanson</span> American painter

Robert Seldon Duncanson was a 19th-century American landscapist of European and African ancestry. Inspired by famous American landscape artists like Thomas Cole, Duncanson created renowned landscape paintings and is considered a second generation Hudson River School artist. Duncanson spent the majority of his career in Cincinnati, Ohio and helped develop the Ohio River Valley landscape tradition. As a free black man in antebellum America, Duncanson engaged the abolitionist community in America and England to support and promote his work. Duncanson is considered the first African-American artist to be internationally known. He operated in the cultural circles of Cincinnati, Detroit, Montreal, and London. The primary art historical debate centered on Duncanson concerns the role that contemporary racial issues played in his work. Some art historians, like Joseph D. Ketner, believe that Duncanson used racial metaphors in his artwork, while others, like Margaret Rose Vendryes, discourage viewers from approaching his art with a racialized perspective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles R. Knight</span> American painter (1874–1953)

Charles Robert Knight was an American wildlife and paleoartist best known for his detailed paintings of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. His works have been reproduced in many books and are currently on display at several major museums in the United States. One of his most famous works is a mural of Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, which helped establish the two dinosaurs as "mortal enemies" in popular culture. Working at a time when many fossil discoveries were fragmentary and dinosaur anatomy was not well understood, many of his illustrations have later been shown to be incorrect representations. Nevertheless, he has been hailed as "one of the great popularizers of the prehistoric past".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copies by Vincent van Gogh</span> Series of paintings by Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh made many copies of other people's work between 1887 and early 1890, which can be considered appropriation art. While at Saint-Paul asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, where Van Gogh admitted himself, he strived to have subjects during the cold winter months. Seeking to be reinvigorated artistically, Van Gogh did more than 30 copies of works by some of his favorite artists. About twenty-one of the works were copies after, or inspired by, Jean-François Millet. Rather than replicate, Van Gogh sought to translate the subjects and composition through his perspective, color, and technique. Spiritual meaning and emotional comfort were expressed through symbolism and color. His brother Theo van Gogh would call the pieces in the series some of his best work.

David Robert Mullen is an American artist and photographer. His art spans a wide range of styles from realist, to abstraction, to surrealist. David Mullen has practiced fine art photography for over 35 years. He views photography as a great printmaking art and has worked in black and white processes such as Van Dyke brown, platinum, silver gelatin and digital formats. For the last seventeen years, Mullen has dedicated his time to black and white and color photography as well as painting in water media such as watercolor, gouache, and acrylics. Mullen has won numerous awards for his work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thelma Johnson Streat</span> American painter

Thelma Beatrice Johnson Streat (1912–1959) was an African-American artist, dancer, and educator. She gained prominence in the 1940s for her art, performance and work to foster intercultural understanding and appreciation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Henry Krehbiel</span> American painter (1873–1945)

Albert Henry Krehbiel, was the most decorated American painter ever at the French Academy, winning the Prix De Rome, four gold medals and five cash prizes. He was born in Denmark, Iowa and taught, lived and worked for many years in Chicago. His masterpiece is the programme of eleven decorative wall and two ceiling paintings / murals for the Supreme and Appellate Court Rooms in Springfield, Illinois (1907–1911). Although educated as a realist in Paris, which is reflected in his neoclassical mural works, he is most famously known as an American Impressionist. Later in his career, Krehbiel experimented in a more modernist manner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Rapids, Michigan</span> City in Michigan, United States

Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the central city of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area, which has a population of 1,087,592 and a combined statistical area population of 1,383,918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum</span> Presidential museum for U.S. President Gerald Ford in Grand Rapids, Michigan

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is the presidential museum and burial place of Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States (1974–1977), and his wife Betty Ford. It is located near the Pew Campus of Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ford's presidential museum is the only such facility under the auspices of the National Archives and Records Administration to be separate from the presidential library, which is located approximately 130 miles (210 km) to the east in Ann Arbor. Despite the separation, the library and museum are a single institution with one director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elaine Didier</span> American director of the Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum

Elaine Didier is the director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum in Michigan, United States. Didier worked at the University of Michigan from 1977 to 1999, where she earned her Doctorate (PhD) in 1982. She was appointed as a board member in October 1997 at Compuware, a Detroit, Michigan based software company with products aimed at the information technology departments of large businesses. In July 1999, Didier left the University of Michigan to become dean of Kresge Library at Oakland University. Didier became director of the Ford Presidential Library and Museum in January 2005. Didier led efforts to increase attendance to the museum. For her accomplishments, she received the University of Michigan Distinguished Alumni Award and the Rotary Club Distinguished Service Award.

Reynold Henry Weidenaar (1915-1985) was an artist from Grand Rapids, Michigan, recognized nationally as well as locally for his technical virtuosity as a draftsman and printmaker. He embraced the subject matter and realism of American Regionalist art, though his depictions of the American Scene reflect a uniquely personal, often satirical perspective. Weidenaar is especially known for his mezzotint prints, particularly those of architectural subjects, such as the construction of the Mackinac Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fahamu Pecou</span> American painter

Fahamu Pecou is an American painter and scholar. He is known for producing works that combine aspects of Fine art and Hip-hop. Most of his works engage representations of black masculinity and identity.

Joseph Antenucci Becherer is an American curator, professor, writer, and arts administrator. He is a scholar of modern and contemporary sculpture, organizing major exhibitions and installations from Auguste Rodin to Jonathan Borofsky, Henry Moore to Magdalena Abakanowicz, Jenny Holzer to Ai Weiwei.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mavis Pusey</span> Jamaican-born American abstract artist (1928–2019)

Mavis Iona Pusey was a Jamaican-born American abstract artist. She was a printmaker and painter who was well known for her hard-edge, nonrepresentational images. Pusey drew inspirations from urban construction. She was a leading abstractionist and made works inspired by the constantly changing landscape.

References

  1. Black, Bob (1978-09-21). "Exhibit salutes black women". Chicago Sun Times.
  2. "Paul Collins: Grand Rapids Artist Appointed to National Board". The Organizer. June 1981.
  3. Who's who in American art, 1995-96 (21st ed.). New York: R.R. Bowker. 1995. pp.  237. ISBN   0835235718.