William Willis (artist)

For other people named William Willis, see William Willis (disambiguation).

William Willis (born 1943) is an American abstract painter.

William Willis
Born	1943 (1943) Sheffield, Alabama
Nationality	American
Known for	Painting, Drawing, Mixed-Media
Movement	Abstract

Biography

Born in Sheffield, Alabama in 1943, William Willis lives on the Maryland shore and works in Washington, D.C.^[1] He is best known for creating paintings and works on paper in muted colors as abstractions of the natural world.^[1] The influences of Eastern philosophy and religion began to take hold in Willis's life and artwork beginning in 1979 and impacted his mode of working through the 1980s.^[1] In Washington, D.C., Willis exhibited a dozen years of his work at the Phillips Collection in 1989 and also taught at the Corcoran School of Art.^[1]^[2] Willis is represented by Howard Scott Gallery in New York City and Hemphill Fine Arts in Washington, D.C.^[3]^[4]

Education

Willis received his B.A. in studio art and his M.F.A. in painting from the University of South Florida, Tampa.^[5] In 2010, the Augusta State University Art Department named Willis a William S. Morris Eminent Scholar in Art, thereby granting him a five-year professorship reserved for artists of international prestige.^[2]^[6]

Recognition

Willis has garnered numerous awards and grants from organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the Vermont Studio Center, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, the University of Maryland, and the Maryland State Arts Council.^[5]

Art in public collections

The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Washington Post Corporation, Washington, D.C.
Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut
Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky
University of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park, Maryland
Dickinson State University, Dickinson, North Dakota
Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, Indiana
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Washington, D.C.
Prudential Financial, Newark, New Jersey
Best Products, Richmond, Virginia

Solo exhibitions

Early career (1976-1980)

1976: Gallery 641, Washington, D.C.
1976: The Athenaeum
1977: Diane Brown Gallery, Washington, D.C.
1979: Diane Brown Gallery, Washington, D.C.

1980s

1981: Jack Rasmussen Gallery, Washington, D.C.
1981: Bernard Jacobson Gallery, New York, NY
1982: I. Irving Feldman Galleries, Southfield, MI
1984: Midtown Gallery, Washington, D.C.
1985: Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, D.C.
1986: Baumgartner Galleries, Washington, D.C.
1987: Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
1987: Baumgartner Galleries, Washington, D.C.
1987: Rosa Esman Gallery, New York, NY
1988: Reynolds/Minor Gallery, Richmond, VA
1989: Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.

1990s

1990: Baumgartner Galleries, Washington, D.C.
1991: Baumgartner Galleries, Washington, D.C.
1991: Guilford College, Greensboro, NC
1991: Weatherspoon Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
1992: Baumgartner Galleries, Washington, D.C.
1992: Academy Art Museum, Easton, MD
1993: Littlejohn/Sternau Gallery, New York, NY
1993: Baumgartner Galleries, Washington, D.C.
1994: Hemphill Fine Arts, Washington, D.C.
1995: M-13 Gallery, New York, NY
1996: Hemphill Fine Arts, Washington, D.C.
1998: University of Maryland, Arts Program Gallery, College Park, MD
1998: M-13 Gallery, New York, NY

2000s

2000: Hemphill Fine Arts, Washington, D.C.
2001: Howard Scott Gallery, New York, NY
2004: Hemphill Fine Arts, Washington, D.C.
2004: Howard Scott Gallery, New York, NY
2005: Hemphill Fine Arts, Washington, D.C.
2012: Hemphill Fine Arts, Washington, D.C.

Notes

1 2 3 4 Johnson, Linda. "The Art of William Willis." "Span", August, 1990. Print.
1 2 Johnson, Eric. "An eye for art." "Metro Spirit", 2007. Retrieved on 16 August 2010.
↑ "Recent paintings and works on paper: William Willis." , Howard Scott Gallery, New York, January, 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
↑ "William Willis." Washington, D.C., Hemphill Fine Arts
1 2 "Faculty Biographies - William Willis." "Amalfi Coast Music and Arts Festival", 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
↑ "Full-Time Art Faculty." , Augusta State University Department of Art, Augusta, GA, 2011. Retrieved on 13 June 2012.

References

Frankel, David. "William Willis: Howard Scott Gallery." , ArtForum, New York, October 2001. Retrieved on 13 June 2012.
"Full-Time Art Faculty." , Augusta State University Department of Art, Augusta, GA, 2011. Retrieved on 13 June 2012.
Moore, Margaret. "On the Cover: William Willis, painter." "Hemisphere", September, 2004. Print.
Protzman, Ferdinand. "William Willis: Abstract and Real." "The Washington Post", Washington, DC, 12 October 2000. Print.
"William Willis." , Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont, October 2010. Retrieved on 13 June 2012.
"William Willis (1943 -)." , AskART, 2012. Retrieved on 13 June 2012.
"William Willis: Paintings and Drawings." , Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, Augusta, GA, 21 October 2011. Retrieved on 13 June 2012.

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