Kolliker Gallery

William Kolliker

William Kolliker was one of El Paso’s most beloved artists and is a member of the El Paso Artists’ Hall of Fame. Born in Bern, Switzerland on October 12, 1905, Kolliker moved to New York at the age of 16. Having artistic talent early on, he found a job with the art department of the New York American. Eventually he became the art director and art editor of the American Weekly, a position he held for twenty-five years. Mr. Kolliker studied at the Grand Central Art School, the Maryland Institute of Art, and the Boston School of Art.

Soon after his relocation to El Paso, Kolliker became one of the city’s foremost artists. He created countless pieces for public and private display and even created designs used by the U.S. Mint. He had a fondness for owls, as they were a well studied subject in his art. He taught advertising at UTEP (The University of Texas at El Paso) for three years, and helped expand the Turney Home into the El Paso Museum of Art in the 1960s, now the International Museum of Art. 

Mr. Kolliker was always most dedicated to painting the land that he loved, the Southwestern desert. In particular was his love of the Pre-Columbian mythology which once inhabited this desert landscape. It is a collection of these Pre-Columbian masterpieces in watercolor, along with his personal collection of Pre-Columbian pottery that the International Museum of Art now houses.

On display you will view his talents in watercolor, weaving, etching and acrylic.