COMPTON COLLIER

(1899-1977)

Miss Compton Collier was born Dorothy Marguerite Cuisset Collier on 24th January in 1899 near Hackney Downs. Collier took up photography at school as an alternative to taking part in sports and first had her work published in Vanity Fair, The Tatler and other magazines in 1914. In November 1919, Collier married John Davis; a business manager. The marriage ended in 1931 and Collier moved to 103 West End Lane, Hampstead in 1922 where she would be based for most of her life. 

Compton Collier died in 1977 and the whereabouts of her archive is currently unknown. More information in the article by Dick Weindling is available online from the West Hampstead Times. In Cecil Beaton’s interview with Miss Collier published in 1960, she revealed that she had photographed over 11,000 gardens in her long career and their owners carefully posed in them.