Alan Caswell Collier was born in Toronto, Ontario and had an illustrious career that spanned six decades. After graduating from the Ontario College of Art in 1933 he faced bleak employment prospects due to the Depression. Before becoming a full-time artist, Alan’s list of jobs included working in an unemployment relief camp, miner, sheet metal worker, commercial artist, truck driver, and served in the Canadian army. His recognizable artistic style caught the eye of Franklin Carmichael, member of the Group of Seven, as well as other notable artists.
In 1955, Alan Collier became an instructor at the Ontario College of Art (OCA) which freed up his summers for traveling and sketching. Each year Collier, with the support of his wife Ruth and son Ian, would travel to different areas of Canada, allowing Collier to represent a wide range of Canadian landscapes. Collier was unique in that he meticulously documented each day’s work and activities through diaries, notes on calendars and in notebooks, slides, and sketches.
Alan Collier; Dingwall, Cape Breton Island
Each painting was carefully documented, as were sales and exhibition records. Besides leaving a legacy of paintings that allow the beholder to experience different aspects of Canada, Collier shared his knowledge through his teaching career and his involvement in organizations such as the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto, where he gave an annual presentation detailing his journeys and lessons learned. Alan was a solid figure in the Canadian art world and his impressive body of work and diligent representations of the natural beauty of Canada will continue to inspire current and future generations.
Alan Collier; Patricia Lake, Jasper Park, Alberta
Anthony R. Westbridge, The Collector's Dictionary of Canadian Artists at Auction- Volume One: A-F ( Vancouver, B.C.: Westbridge Publications Ltd., 1999), 69.
Peter Neary, ed, Alan Caswell Collier, Relief Stiff: An Artist's Letters from Depression-Era British Columbia (Vancouver, B.C.: UBC Press, 2018.
