Alan Collier (1900-1994)

Born in Toronto, Alan Collier studied art there and in New York, working as a miner in the summer to pay his way. He worked as an advertising artist in New York during the Second World War and in Toronto afterwards, finding more and more time to paint for himself. In 1951 he began painting scenes of underground mining. Four years later Collier began teaching advertising art at the Ontario College of Art. Starting in 1956, he made three-month sketching trips to various parts of Canada, a practice he followed every summer. His landscapes are brightly coloured and strongly graphic; many are sweeping vistas.1

Sources:

1 “Art for War and Peace: How a Great Art Project Helped Canada Discover Itself” by Ian Sigvaldason/Scott Steedman published by Read Leaf 2015