William Willis (artist)

Willis received his Bachelor of Arts in studio art and his Master of Fine Arts in painting from the University of South Florida in Tampa.^[1] His works focus on muted colors and the abstraction of the natural world. In the 1980s, he drew inspiration from Eastern philosophy and religion.^[2]

In 1989, Willis exhibited works spanning dozens of years at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. while teaching at the Corcoran School at George Washington University.^[2][3] He was appointed to a five-year professorship at Augusta State University as a William S. Morris Eminent Scholar in Art in 2010.^[3][4]

He has received awards and grants from 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.^[1]