Details of Sculptor

Surname

Collins

Alternative Surname

First Name

Thomas

Initial of Surname

C

Year of Birth/Baptism

c1740

Flourished

1771

Year of Death

Biographical Details

The nephew of William Wilton, he was ‘bred to the plaistering business by his uncle’ (Farington 3, 703). He worked with his uncle and his cousin Joseph Wilton at Parkstead and Styche in Shropshire, under the direction of Sir William Chambers. Collins was to have a lifelong association with the architect. He first appears in the list of payments made by Chambers in the account books of Drummond’s Bank in 1762. He was paid small amounts until 1768, but in 1769 he received £530. In 1770 over £1,000 was made over to him and in 1771 he and Chambers had a joint account, suggesting a shared building project. That year the Royal Academy accepted a gift from Collins of works, presumably in plaster, made from designs by Chambers (1). Collins was the architect’s principal executor. Farington relates that ‘Chambers sent for Collins just before he died and asked him to take care of his wife’ (Farington 3, 703). In 1796 he lived in Berners Street.
Literary References: Farington vol. 3, 703, 27 Nov 1796; Harris 1970, 53, 175; Alcock 1980, 209