Albert Henry Collings, RBA (1868 – 6 May 1947) was an English artist most notable for his

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

ure.

Life and work

Collings was born, trained, and lived all his life in London. Working in oils, water-colour, and

pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

, he specialised in figure subjects and portraits, for which he received a number of official commissions. He exhibited for many years at the

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

, showing a total of 98 works and being elected a member in 1897. He also supported the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

(29 works, 1896–1938) and the

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI), initially called the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, is one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists, based in the Mall Galleries in London. History In 1831 the so ...

, and showed at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

, where he was awarded a gold medal for a portrait in 1907. In 1911 Collings painted in oils the portrait of the Unionist MP for East Herts, Mr Abel Smith, which was presented to Abel Smith by his friends. A picture by Collings exhibited at the

Brighton Museum & Art Gallery Brighton Museum & Art Gallery is a municipally-owned public museum and art gallery in the city of Brighton and Hove in the South East of England. It is part of the "Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton and Hove". It is free for local residents ...

in 1926 attracted attention in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' reporting: Examples of his portraiture are at Harrow and in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and

Portsmouth Town Hall Portsmouth Guildhall is a multi-use building in the centre of Portsmouth, UK, located on a pedestrian square close to the Portsmouth and Southsea railway station. Constructed in 1890, the building was known as Portsmouth Town Hall until 1926. It ...

; but for such a fluent and relatively prolific artist, his work is now rare. Painted the portrait of J.A.Harrison hon. secretary of The Eccentric Club in 1929. Collings was a member of

The Savage Club The Savage Club, founded in 1857, is a gentlemen's club in London, named after the poet, Richard Savage. Members are drawn from the fields of art, drama, law, literature, music or science. History The founding meeting of the Savage Club took ...

. He exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists what was dubbed 'a pretty head' by ''The Times art critic in 1909.''The Times'', Monday, Oct 04, 1909; pg. 13; Issue 39081

Exhibitions

*Arlington Gallery, Bond Street, London - 1934

Gallery

Albert Henry Collings - Portrait.jpg, Albert Henry Collings - Kimono and Kylin.jpg, Albert Henry Collings - The studio mirror.jpg, Albert Henry Collings - The fish bowl.jpg, Albert Henry Collings - Corsaire.jpg,

Notes

References

*''The Times'', Monday, Jul 31, 1911; pg. 11; Issue 39651 *''The Times'', Monday, Oct 11, 1926; pg. 17; Issue 44399 *''The Times'', Monday, May 25, 1936; pg. 9; Issue 47383 *''The Times'', Monday, Dec 02, 1929; pg. 14; Issue 45375

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collings, Albert Henry 1868 births 1947 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters Members of the Royal Society of British Artists 20th-century English painters English watercolourists English portrait painters Landscape artists English illustrators 19th-century English male artists 20th-century English male artists