Alan Caswell Collier

Alan Caswell Collier (1911-1990) RCA, OSA

Alan Coswell Collier was born in Toronto. He received his initial training at the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD) under J.E.H. MacDonald and Franklin Carmichael. Following his graduation, Collier traveled across Canada working as a miner to save up enough money to study at the Art Students’ League in New York. In 1943, Collier joined the Canadian Army, returning to Toronto following the war. Collier traveled to British Columbia to paint the landscape there, but also did a series of paintings of mining sites. Collier’s reputation grew, and in 1963 he was commissioned by Standard Oil to paint a series of landscapes along the Trans-Canada Highway. Among his other commissions included a pair of murals for Ryerson Institute of Technology, Toronto (now Toronto Metropolitan University). Later in his life, Collier taught advertising art at the Ontario College of Art, following which he retired from work to focus on his painting full-time until his death in 1990. Collier’s work is held within the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Hamilton Art Gallery, among other institutions.

Source: MacDonald, Colin S. A Dictionary Of Canadian Artists. Volume One.