Herbert A. Collins
Encyclopedia
Herbert Alexander Collins, Sr., (1865–1937) was a Canadian
-born American
artist
. He was known nationally in the United States
as a landscape
and portrait
painter
.
, Middlesex County
, Ontario, Canada. He was the son of James Hamilton Collins and Lucinda Collins, both of whom were born in Ontario. His mother's father, William Collins, was born in Scotland
.
"At 17, Collins was apprenticed to J. W. Forster of Toronto, one of the foremost portrait painters in Canada. His progress was so rapid that before completing the first year of his apprenticeship, he painted a portrait of Honorable Albion Rawlings, a member of the Ontario Parliament."
. He emigrated to the United States in 1884. His younger brother James A Collins was also a portrait artist. Herbert and James had an artist shop together in Omaha, Nebraska in 1885.
While in Omaha, he painted portraits of Nebraska Governors James W. Dawes
and James E. Boyd and Senator John Thurston. He also painted portraits of General Nelson A. Miles
, General Brooks, General George Crook
, and General Oliver O. Howard
of Fort Omaha
as well as English actress Olga Nethersole
.
On October 17, 1888, he married Mary E. Straight in Chicago, Illinois. She was born on November 12, 1867 in Mount Orab, Ohio
. Her parents were born in Ohio
. Together they had 9 children, six of which survived. Their children were born between 1891 and 1904. He was in Omaha in 1889 and 1890.
, owner and operator of the Plankinton Hotel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. For this piece of work he was said to have received the highest price ever paid in this country for a crayon portrait. Later, the Plankinton Hotel was destroyed by fire and the picture with it."
In 1893 he went to London for six months and studied at the Royal Academy
. While there he met Henry Charles Heath, the noted miniature painter. This contact marked the beginning of his specialty of miniature portraits painted with watercolor on ivory."
In June 1900, the census records them living in Chicago's 31st Ward on Bishop Street. They already had 4 children. He worked as a portrait artist.
During a four month stay in Mexico City
in 1903, he painted a portrait of Mexican President Porfirio Diaz
, the Secretary of State, and other high Mexican Officials. The portrait of Diaz was destroyed in the 1910 revolution.
In 1904, he did a portrait of Charles Hackley
, which was hung in Mr. Hackley's newly completed gift to Muskegon, Michigan
of the Hackley Hospital.
In 1910, he and his family lived in Hagerman, Idaho
, where he was an artist. In 1920, they lived in Gooding, Idaho
, where he worked as an art instructor. He was a member of the Lincoln Lodge while there. The Hagerman High School
senior class of 1919 commissioned him to do a landscape of Stanley Lake in the Sawtooth Range
as their class gift.
In 1911, the Idaho legislature voted an appropriation for painting the portraits of all territorial and state governors, including the then incumbent, James H. Hawley. Herbert entered the open competition and was awarded the contract. This resulted in a total of twenty pictures being painted in Boise that year. His "portraits of Idaho Governors (are) hanging in the Boise Capitol Building
"...
Herbert made several significant portraits of naturalist John Muir
. The Sierra Club
uses one of his portraits in their biographical materials about Muir. One of these portraits is in the collection of the College of the Siskiyous
in Weed, California
.
after a short time in Los Angeles. While in Berkeley he painted portraits of Mr. and Mrs W. H. Heywood in 1923.
Two years after the death of Mary Straight Collins in 1925, he married Josephine J. Pratt of London Ontario. She was born about 1864, emigrated to the United States in 1887, and died in 1950.
"In the period 1928-34 he went into semi-retirement with his wife near Los Gatos, California
they did considerable traveling, but he kept up his interest in art by painting a number of landscapes. In 1930, he is shown in the census with Josephine in Redwood Township, Santa Clara County, California
. Redwood Township is in the area of the modern cities of Los Gatos, Monte Sereno
and Saratoga
California.
, Berkeley, California
. ... This was the happiest period of his professional life ..."
His portrait of an Indian Camp near the Tetons hangs in the Colter
Bay Indian Arts Museum in Grand Teton National Park
. His painting of the legend of Mato the Bear hangs over the fireplace in the visitors center at Devils Tower National Monument
. His work is also on display in the visitor center of Tumacácori National Historical Park
.
He did portraits of National Park Service Directors Stephen Mather, Horace M. Albright
, and Arno B. Cammerer
.
Herbert A. Collins, Sr. and his son Herbert A. Collins, Jr. were commissioned in the spring of 1937, the final year of his life, to paint six Yosemite Valley
reconstructions for the Yosemite National Park
Museum. These oil paintings show how the valley might have looked in six different times during its geographic evolution. They are also reproduced in the book The Incomparable Valley.
His portraits of the Kent family
are in the Muir Woods National Monument
in Marin County, California
. They were unveiled not long before his death.
His Oakland Tribune second page obituary summarized his career by saying that he was "widely heralded for his portrait artistry" and that "he did much work for the National Park Service
".
. His funeral was on December 7, 1937 at the Berg Chapel, officiated by Dr. Horace Westerwood. He was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California
. He was living at 2119 Addison Street in Berkeley at the time. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, and four sons.
His son William W. Collins became a photographer.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
. He was known nationally in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a landscape
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
and portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
.
Early years
Herbert was born on October 21, 1865 in West Williams TownshipNorth Middlesex, Ontario
North Middlesex is a municipality in Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada.The restructured municipality of North Middlesex was incorporated on January 1, 2001. This amalgamation joined five municipalities — the townships of East Williams, West Williams and McGillivray, the town of Parkhill and the...
, Middlesex County
Middlesex County, Ontario
Middlesex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario. Landlocked, the county is bordered by Huron and Perth counties on the north, Oxford County on the east, Elgin County on the south, and Chatham-Kent and Lambton County on the west.The seat is the city of London, although the city...
, Ontario, Canada. He was the son of James Hamilton Collins and Lucinda Collins, both of whom were born in Ontario. His mother's father, William Collins, was born in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
"At 17, Collins was apprenticed to J. W. Forster of Toronto, one of the foremost portrait painters in Canada. His progress was so rapid that before completing the first year of his apprenticeship, he painted a portrait of Honorable Albion Rawlings, a member of the Ontario Parliament."
A Start in Omaha
His apprenticeship ended after he incurred a serious injury at a barn raising and then got pneumonia. He convalesced with his Aunt, Jean Anderson Collins Shontz and Uncle, Benjamin Shontz in Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. He emigrated to the United States in 1884. His younger brother James A Collins was also a portrait artist. Herbert and James had an artist shop together in Omaha, Nebraska in 1885.
While in Omaha, he painted portraits of Nebraska Governors James W. Dawes
James W. Dawes
James William Dawes was a Republican Nebraska politician best known as the fifth Governor of Nebraska. He was born in McConnelsville, Ohio. He was also a delegate to the state constitutional convention and a member of state senate in 1877. Dawes County, Nebraska is named in his honor. He also...
and James E. Boyd and Senator John Thurston. He also painted portraits of General Nelson A. Miles
Nelson A. Miles
Nelson Appleton Miles was a United States soldier who served in the American Civil War, Indian Wars, and the Spanish-American War.-Early life:Miles was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, on his family's farm...
, General Brooks, General George Crook
George Crook
George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
, and General Oliver O. Howard
Oliver O. Howard
Oliver Otis Howard was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War...
of Fort Omaha
Fort Omaha
Fort Omaha, originally known as Sherman Barracks and then Omaha Barracks, is an Indian War-era United States Army supply installation. Located at 5730 North 30th Street, with the entrance at North 30th and Fort Streets in modern-day North Omaha, Nebraska, the facility is primarily occupied by ...
as well as English actress Olga Nethersole
Olga Nethersole
Olga Isabella Nethersole, CBE, RRC was an English actress, theatre producer, and wartime nurse/health educator.-Biography:...
.
On October 17, 1888, he married Mary E. Straight in Chicago, Illinois. She was born on November 12, 1867 in Mount Orab, Ohio
Mount Orab, Ohio
Mount Orab is a village in Brown County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,307 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mount Orab is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land....
. Her parents were born in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. Together they had 9 children, six of which survived. Their children were born between 1891 and 1904. He was in Omaha in 1889 and 1890.
Artistic career
"In 1890 Collins and family moved to Chicago, where he continued his career." "Among the outstanding achievements of this period was a crayon portrait, eight feet long, of John PlankintonPlankinton, South Dakota
Plankinton is a city in Aurora County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 707 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Aurora County. Plankinton was named for Milwaukee meatpacker and hotel owner John Plankinton, a friend of Alexander Mitchell, the President of the Milwaukee Road...
, owner and operator of the Plankinton Hotel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. For this piece of work he was said to have received the highest price ever paid in this country for a crayon portrait. Later, the Plankinton Hotel was destroyed by fire and the picture with it."
In 1893 he went to London for six months and studied at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
. While there he met Henry Charles Heath, the noted miniature painter. This contact marked the beginning of his specialty of miniature portraits painted with watercolor on ivory."
In June 1900, the census records them living in Chicago's 31st Ward on Bishop Street. They already had 4 children. He worked as a portrait artist.
During a four month stay in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
in 1903, he painted a portrait of Mexican President Porfirio Diaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
, the Secretary of State, and other high Mexican Officials. The portrait of Diaz was destroyed in the 1910 revolution.
In 1904, he did a portrait of Charles Hackley
Charles Hackley
Charles Henry Hackley son of Joseph H. Hackley and Salina Fuller Hackley was born in Michigan City, Indiana, January 3, 1837 He was am important figure in the history of Muskegon, Michigan...
, which was hung in Mr. Hackley's newly completed gift to Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...
of the Hackley Hospital.
In 1910, he and his family lived in Hagerman, Idaho
Hagerman, Idaho
Hagerman is a town in Gooding County, Idaho, United States. The population was 768 at the 2007 census.-Geography:Hagerman is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, where he was an artist. In 1920, they lived in Gooding, Idaho
Gooding, Idaho
Gooding is the county seat and largest city of Gooding County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 3,384 at the 2000 census.The city is named for Frank R. Gooding, a local sheep rancher who became a prominent political figure in Idaho in the early 20th Century, serving as both Governor of...
, where he worked as an art instructor. He was a member of the Lincoln Lodge while there. The Hagerman High School
Hagerman High School
Hagerman High School is a small yet notable high school, located in Hagerman, New Mexico, Chaves County, southwest of Roswell, New Mexico. The current enrollment of students is between 140 and 150 students, of whom 55 % are Hispanic and over 90 % are eligible for a free school lunch. Both the...
senior class of 1919 commissioned him to do a landscape of Stanley Lake in the Sawtooth Range
Sawtooth Range (Idaho)
The Sawtooth Range is part of the Rocky Mountains, located within a few miles south of Stanley, Idaho, in the Western United States. Much of mountain range is within the Sawtooth Wilderness, part of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area...
as their class gift.
In 1911, the Idaho legislature voted an appropriation for painting the portraits of all territorial and state governors, including the then incumbent, James H. Hawley. Herbert entered the open competition and was awarded the contract. This resulted in a total of twenty pictures being painted in Boise that year. His "portraits of Idaho Governors (are) hanging in the Boise Capitol Building
Idaho State Capitol
In 1863, Lewiston, Idaho was the original Idaho State Capitol site until Boise was made the capitol in 1890 which is also when President Benjamin Harrison signed Idaho into statehood. The story behind Boise becoming the capitol is government workers sneaked in and stole the state seal from Lewiston...
"...
Herbert made several significant portraits of naturalist John Muir
John Muir
John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...
. The Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
uses one of his portraits in their biographical materials about Muir. One of these portraits is in the collection of the College of the Siskiyous
College of the Siskiyous
College of the Siskiyous is a public two-year community college with campus is located in Weed, and Yreka, California in Siskiyou County in Northern California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and has an enrollment of approximately 3,000 students, including part-time students...
in Weed, California
Weed, California
Weed is a city located in Siskiyou County, California. As of the 2010 Census, the town had a total population of 2,967, down from 2,979 at the 2000 census. There are several unincorporated communities adjacent to, or just outside Weed proper. These include Edgewood, Carrick, Lake Shastina, Rancho...
.
Move to California
He moved to California in 1921. He settled in Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
after a short time in Los Angeles. While in Berkeley he painted portraits of Mr. and Mrs W. H. Heywood in 1923.
Two years after the death of Mary Straight Collins in 1925, he married Josephine J. Pratt of London Ontario. She was born about 1864, emigrated to the United States in 1887, and died in 1950.
"In the period 1928-34 he went into semi-retirement with his wife near Los Gatos, California
Los Gatos, California
The Town of Los Gatos is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 29,413 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area at the southwest corner of San Jose in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains...
they did considerable traveling, but he kept up his interest in art by painting a number of landscapes. In 1930, he is shown in the census with Josephine in Redwood Township, Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
. Redwood Township is in the area of the modern cities of Los Gatos, Monte Sereno
Monte Sereno, California
Monte Sereno is a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. The population was 3,341 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, about 10 miles southwest of San Jose and is immediately northwest of Los Gatos. The city is named for the 2249 ft...
and Saratoga
Saratoga, California
Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, directly west of San Jose, in the San Francisco Bay area. The population was 29,926 at the 2010 census....
California.
National Park Service
"Through the years 1934 to 1937, inclusive, he worked as Artist-Preparator in the Western Museum Laboratories, National Park ServiceNational Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. ... This was the happiest period of his professional life ..."
His portrait of an Indian Camp near the Tetons hangs in the Colter
John Colter
John Colter was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition . Though party to one of the more famous expeditions in history, Colter is best remembered for explorations he made during the winter of 1807–1808, when Colter became the first known person of European descent to enter the region now known...
Bay Indian Arts Museum in Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Park consists of approximately and includes the major peaks of the long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Only south of Yellowstone...
. His painting of the legend of Mato the Bear hangs over the fireplace in the visitors center at Devils Tower National Monument
Devils Tower National Monument
Devils Tower is an igneous intrusion or laccolith located in the Black Hills near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River...
. His work is also on display in the visitor center of Tumacácori National Historical Park
Tumacácori National Historical Park
Tumacácori National Historical Park is located in the upper Santa Cruz River Valley of southern Arizona. The park protects the ruins of three Spanish mission communities, two of which are National Historic Landmark sites, and it also contains the Tumacácori Museum, a historic landmark building...
.
He did portraits of National Park Service Directors Stephen Mather, Horace M. Albright
Horace M. Albright
Horace Marden Albright was an American conservationist.Horace Albright was born 1890 in Bishop, California, the son of George Albright, a miner. He graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 1912 , and earned a law degree from Georgetown University...
, and Arno B. Cammerer
Arno B. Cammerer
Arno Berthold Cammerer was the third director of the U.S. National Park Service.Cammerer was born in Arapahoe, Nebraska in 1883. He was the son of a Lutheran pastor. He went to Washington, D.C in 1904 to work as a civil service bookkeeper, and earned a Bachelor of Law degree at Georgetown Law...
.
Herbert A. Collins, Sr. and his son Herbert A. Collins, Jr. were commissioned in the spring of 1937, the final year of his life, to paint six Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
reconstructions for the Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
Museum. These oil paintings show how the valley might have looked in six different times during its geographic evolution. They are also reproduced in the book The Incomparable Valley.
His portraits of the Kent family
William Kent (U.S. Congressman)
William Kent was an American who served as a United States Congressman representing the State of California. He spearheaded the movement to create the Muir Woods National Monument by donating land to the Federal Government for the Monument.Kent was born in Chicago, Illinois...
are in the Muir Woods National Monument
Muir Woods National Monument
Muir Woods National Monument is a unit of the National Park Service on the Pacific coast of southwestern Marin County, California, north of San Francisco and part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
in Marin County, California
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
. They were unveiled not long before his death.
His Oakland Tribune second page obituary summarized his career by saying that he was "widely heralded for his portrait artistry" and that "he did much work for the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
".
Death and legacy
He died at his home of a heart attack on December 5, 1937 in Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. His funeral was on December 7, 1937 at the Berg Chapel, officiated by Dr. Horace Westerwood. He was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. He was living at 2119 Addison Street in Berkeley at the time. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, and four sons.
His son William W. Collins became a photographer.
External links
- Artists in California, Edan Milton HughesEdan Milton HughesEdan Milton Hughes is an American art dealer and collector of Californian art.Hughes lives in San Francisco, where he has maintained an art dealership since 1960. He is the author of Artists in California, 1786-1940 . The third edition contains biographical information on over 20,000 Californian...
ISBN 0961611219 - Davenport's Art Reference 2005, Ray Davenport
- The Incomparable Valley, Francois Matthes, ISBN 978-0520008274