He was a close friend of the Italian animalier Rembrandt Bugatti, who was based in Antwerp for several years before World War I.

[1] Collin's oeuvre, except for his youngest years, consisted exclusively of prolific sculpted animals, both wild and domestic.

[1] His most visible works are the 12 elephants created for a bridge in Antwerp in 1930 and his Éléphant monté par des Noirs ("Elephant mounted by blacks"), a monumental sculpture in concrete, created on the occasion of the Brussels International Exposition (1935) and exhibited in front of the pavilion of the Belgian Congo designed by René Schoentjes.

After the end of the exhibition the sculpture was set up opposite the Royal Museum for Central Africa at Tervuren.

[2] In 1920 Collin won a gold medal in the art competition of the Olympic Games held in Antwerp for his sculpture "La Force" ("Strength").