An unusual and unique sculpture/coffee table by Colbert Collins, 1976, entitled "Piano Table". Here is a brief bio: "Born in 1924, in Portsmouth, Ohio, he was the oldest son of 6 children. His family then moved to Harlan County, Kentucky, and his father died when he was 11. He quit school, and set out traplines in the woods and took odd jobs to help feed his family. When WW II broke out he joined the army became a decorated Paratrooper and a Ranger in the 101st Airborne Division; the "Screaming Eagles." After the war, he enrolled in University of Missouri, Columbia Missouri, through the GI bill, and discovered art, writing, and working with clay. He graduated in Fine Arts and Psychology, and went on to do Graduate work in Art and Occupational Therapy. There he met his wife of 42 years whom he lost to breast cancer in 1994. He later remarried. Following Graduate work as an Occupational Therapist, Collins moved to upstate New York and became a successful restaurateur and artist, where he and his wife raised two children. He started carving ice sculptures and modeling clay. He founded an Artists Consortium of local painters and sculptors. He began to do one man exhibits, initially at the Arnot Art Gallery in Elmira New York. He then moved to West Palm Beach, and continued his journey for the next 30 years to become an enormously prolific sculptor, creating over two thousand pieces of sculpture, ranging from table top size, to public and private pieces; 30 feet high. Over the years his work has been the subject of television shows, numerous newspaper and magazine articles and in private collections and galleries. His sculptures have been presented in print advertisement (Architectural Digest), and one of his larger fabricated pieces appeared in an opening scene of a Warner Brothers film. He was the Artist in Residence at the Chateau de Bonmont, Cheserex, Switzerland. He exhibited in over a dozen galleries and private homes. He fabricated a set of monumental sculpture design "The Gates of Jerusalem"; a figurative set of six abstract pieces that reflected the temple of Jerusalem in collaboration with the Symphony Orchestra. He is represented in private collections throughout the United States, Lyon and Divonne, France; Geneva and Cheserex Switzerland, Sydney Australia, Frankfort Germany, Shannon Ireland, Toronto, Canada, and in Rio De Janeiro Venezuela. Throughout his career Cobert created an enormous body of work ,The placement/ownership of Cobert's sculptures span four continents, a dozen countries, at least 20 states, over 20 commercial and public buildings/gardens/complexes, and over three thousand private residences. He has sculpted images from six inch highly representational figures, to abstracts standing 30 feet high and weighing several tons. At age 81, his final installation was a set of five figures representing the five branches of service in WW II at Royal Palm Veterans Park, in Royal Palm beach Florida. Collins passed in Delaware, Ohio; March 19, 2013, surrounded by family and friends. A large portion of Cobert's remaining work has been placed in a Partnership, between the Cobert C Collins Memorial Sculpture Fund, LLC and the Westerville Ohio Parks and Recreation Foundation for the purpose of publicly displaying and selling this work in the greater Westerville area. Furthermore, Collins sculptures will be a centerpiece of the community wide art initiative being planned and presented in Westerville throughout the remainder of the decade.
Collins wrote and published several books; some fiction and one a series of letters he wrote to his first grandchild when she was born; Letters to Megan.In all of his work, Collins always formulated the idea that the positive side of human relationships be reflected. Collins always chose to rise above the human condition and to celebrate the beauty and connection that all people have toward one another."
Height: 41 in (104.14 cm) Width: 43 in (109.22 cm) Depth: 35 in (88.9 cm)
Wear consistent with age and use. very good vintage condition, from estate of the artist's friend.
