William Collingwood was born in Greenwich, London, England on 23 April 1819, the son of Samuel Collingwood (1786-1852), an architect and a cousin of the artist William Collingwood Smith (1815-1887) with whom he studied. He also received lessons from James Duffield Harding (1798-1863) and Samuel Prout (1783-1852). In 1839 he moved to Liverpool where he remained for the next 45 years. He made sketching and painting excursions to various parts of Britain and to Switzerland. He became known for his alpine views and showed at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, Royal Academy and at the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours in London. Collingwood joined the Liverpool Academy in 1842. He was elected an Associate of the New Water-Colour Society in 1845; a full member of the Society in 1852; an Associate of the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours in 1855; and a full member of the Society in 1884.