Alan Caswell Collier
(1911 - 1990) OSA, RCA
Previously Sold Works
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
Cape Mercy - Baffin Island
oil on canvas
signed lower right
24 x 36 ins ( 61 x 91.4 cms )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
Hurricane Ridge, Olympic Mountains
oil on board
signed lower right; signed and titled on the artist’s label on the reverse
20 x 16 ins ( 50.8 x 40.6 cms )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
Snug Harbour, Labrador
pencil on paper
signed lower right, titled and dated “5 July 69” top right, artist notations throughout the composition; unframed
9 x 12 ins ( 22.9 x 30.5 cms ) ( sheet )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
At Bell Rapids
oil on board
signed lower right; signed, titled and dated “12 Oct 1973” on the reverse
12 x 16 ins ( 30.5 x 40.6 cms )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
The 4025 Hoist, McIntyre
oil on board
signed lower right; inscribed “P.170” on the reverse
27 x 20 ins ( 68.6 x 50.8 cms )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
Emerald Lake
sampson matthews silkscreen
typed title in the lower margin; unframed
20 x 27 ins ( 50.8 x 68.6 cms )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
Near Bela Coola
oil on canvas board
signed lower left
20 x 16 ins ( 50.8 x 40.6 cms )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
Masonic Temple, Dawson City
ink drawing
signed and titled lower right
8.5 x 10 ins ( 21.6 x 25.4 cms )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
North Beach, Percé, Que
oil on board
signed lower left; signed and titled on the reverse
12 x 16 ins ( 30.5 x 40.6 cms )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
Misty October Morn
oil on board
signed lower left; signed and titled on the reverse
12 x 16 ins ( 30.5 x 40.6 cms )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
Lumsden North, Newfoundland
oil on board
signed lower right; signed and titled on the reverse
12 x 16 ins ( 30.5 x 40.6 cms )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
Banff, April
watercolour
signed lower right; titled on the reverse
10 x 14 ins ( 25.4 x 35.6 cms ) ( sight )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
Rolling Farmland, Rich and Somber, Brackley, P.E.I.
oil on board
signed lower left; signed and titled on the reverse; titled on the artist’s label on the reverse
12 x 16 ins ( 30.5 x 40.6 cms )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
The Road to St.Sauveur, Que
oil on board
signed lower left; titled and dated 1949 on the frame
16 x 20 ins ( 40.6 x 50.8 cms )
ALAN CASWELL COLLIER
In the Ogilvie Mountains, Yukon Territory
oil on board
signed lower left; signed and titled (twice) on the reverse
12 x 16 ins ( 30.5 x 40.6 cms )
Consignments
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Alan Collier Biography
(1911 - 1990) OSA, RCA
Born in Toronto, Alan Collier studied under J.E.H. MacDonald, and Franklin Carmichael at the Ontario College of Art (1929-33). Following graduation, he travelled across the country on a relief gang, and worked as a miner to earn enough money to study at the Art Students’ League in New York City. During his studies, he returned to mining from time to time to enable him to continue with his education. In 1937 he studied at the Art Students’ League, New York, under Howard Trafton, 1937-9 and while there he worked as a commercial artist making illustrations for advertising until 1942.
He joined the Canadian Army in 1943. He returned to Toronto after the war to continue his advertising art career, but concentrated more and more on painting. Early In his painting he was influenced by the work of J. W. Beatty, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Frank Carmichael. Over the years he made trips to British Columbia and many other parts of Canada travelling by trailer with his wife and son, three months of the summer. One year, however, he returned to the selenite mines where he had worked, and painted a series of canvases from the miner’s point of view.
In 1951 his background in mining became the inspiration for a series of paintings depicting the underground work environment, an interest that spanned several years. He also made annual road trips with his family to paint Canadian landscape. Reviewing his work in 1961, Globe and Mail critic Colin Sabiston wrote, “Technically, Mr. Collier has reached a new peak of achievement, especially in his paintings. The drawings are in clean-cut lines . . . The paintings, on the other hand are redolent of rich colour . . .” He received a commission from Standard Oil in 1963 to paint landscapes along the Trans-Canada Highway.
Collier’s media include oils, watercolours, pyroxilin and acrylic polymer emulsion. His compositions are masterful in their simplicity. A muralist as well, he decorated the foyer of the Toronto agency of The Bank of Canada, and two murals in the Ryerson Institute of Technology, Toronto. His portraits include personalities in business and educational fields. He considered his finest portrait that of his wife Ruth. He exhibited at the Roberts Galley in the early spring of each year of 1961, 1963 and 1965. He is represented at the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Hamilton Art Gallery. Collier was elected a member of the Ontario Society of Artists in 1952. He taught advertising art at the Ontario College of Art from 1955 to 1967 at which time he devoted himself to painting on a full-time basis. He died in Toronto at the age of 79.
Source: "A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume I: A-F", compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1977
