Biography

Dutch painter (also spelt Colyer, Kollier) possibly of English descent. He probably trained in Haarlem, as his earliest paintings show the influence of Pieter Claesz. and Vincent Laurensz. van der Vinne. His large Vanitas Still-life (1656; private collection) was inscribed V. Laurens several times on one of the documents included in the composition. Collier was first documented in Leiden in 1667, and he was registered as a member of the Guild of St Luke from 1673 to 1680. He married in Leiden in 1670, 1677 and 1681 but was separated from his third wife on 10 April 1682. He is recorded as living in Amsterdam in 1686.

On 2 May 1693 he left for London, where he was active as a painter of trompes l'oeil and where he remained until 1706. His stay there is corroborated by paintings dated between 1693 and 1706, which are signed Mr E(dwart) Collier painter at(t) London. He is last recorded in Leiden on 15 January 1706. The facts of Collier's place and date of death are based on the possibility that he is the man referred to as Evert Pietersz. Coleyn in the Leiden burial records of 1710.