Elisabeth Ward Collins (née Ramsden, 31 October 1904 – 17 January 2000), was a British painter and sculptor.

Biography

Collins was born and brought up in Halifax in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

where her father was the editor, and owner, of a local newspaper, the ''Halifax Courier and Guardian'' and her mother, who was originally from Charleston in

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, was an amateur concert pianist. Collins studied sculpture at the

Leeds School of Art Leeds Arts University is a specialist arts further and higher education institution, based in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a main campus opposite the University of Leeds. History It was founded in 1846 as the Leeds Schoo ...

before enrolling in the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

, RCA, in London, where she was taught by

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...

. At the RCA she met and, in 1931, married her fellow student Cecil Collins. Both artists worked in similar styles and often featured elements of folklore or fantasy in their paintings, which led to Elisabeth Collins' work being somewhat overshadowed by that of her husband. Elisabeth also frequently modelled for her husband and worked to support and encourage his work. For a time she exhibited under the name Belmoat to distinguish her work from his. From 1937 to 1945 the couple lived near the artistic community at

Dartington Hall Dartington Hall in Dartington, near Totnes, Devon, England, is an historic house and country estate of dating from medieval times. The group of late 14th century buildings are Grade I listed; described in Pevsner's Buildings of England as "on ...

, the then home of Leonard Elmhirst and

Dorothy Elmhirst Dorothy Payne Elmhirst ( Whitney; January 23, 1887 – December 14, 1968) was an American-born social activist, philanthropist, publisher and a member of the prominent Whitney family. Life and work Whitney was born in Washington, D.C., the daug ...

, and this was perhaps Elisabeth Collins' most productive period as an artist. Working in gouache, ink and watercolour, Collins produced dream-like images of mystical figures that recalled the work of the surrealists she had previously met in Paris in the early 1930s. From 1948 the Collinses lived in Cambridge where they were among the founders of the Cambridge Society of Painters and Sculptors. At other times the couple lived in London, Yorkshire and Oxford. In 1973 Collins and her husband were jointly commissioned to decorate a chapel in

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of the ...

. After his death in 1989, Elisabeth Collins used her husband's studio to produce a body of work. Retrospective exhibitions of Elisabeth Collins' art were held at both the Albemarle Gallery in London during 1989 and at England & Co. in 1996. Following the England & Co. exhibition, the

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

in London acquired four works by her. In her later life, Collins became involved with the

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

church in London and her funeral was held at the Orthodox church in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

. She was buried on the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

with her husband.

References

External links

Works by Collins
in the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Elisabeth 1904 births 2000 deaths 20th-century English sculptors 20th-century English women artists Alumni of Leeds Arts University Alumni of the Royal College of Art Burials at Highgate Cemetery English sculptors English women painters English women sculptors Modern sculptors People from Halifax, West Yorkshire