William Willis (artist)


William Willis is an American abstract painter.

Biography

Born in Sheffield, Alabama in 1943, William Willis lives on the Maryland shore and works in Washington, D.C. He is best known for creating paintings and works on paper in muted colors as abstractions of the natural world. 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. 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. Willis is represented by Howard Scott Gallery in New York City and Hemphill Fine Arts in Washington, D.C.

Education

Willis received his B.A. in studio art and his M.F.A. in painting from the University of South Florida, Tampa. 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.

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.

Art in public collections

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Early career (1976-1980)