|
William Hook Biography
The American landscape is William Hook's inspiration. Large skies, low horizons, distant mountains and textured foregrounds are expressed in his paintings with broad brushstrokes of vivid color. The magazines Southwest Art, Art of the West, U.S. Art, American Artist, and Focus Santa Fe have featured Hook's work in cover articles, and the book, Leading the West by Donald Hagerty, references William Hook as one of the notable influences on the western art scene. In addition, publishers Harper-Collins and North Light have included his work in numerous books written about the contemporary art process in Europe and America.
William Hook's background in art began at home. It was through the influence of his father and grandmother, a professional photographer and architect respectively, that art became second nature to him. Other family members were art historian Bainbridge Bunting, prominent Italian painters Gino and Bertha Venanzi, as well as Pulitzer Prize winning author, Willa Cather. When the discussion of art arose at the Hook household, there was never a lack of opinions and interests. "I was always encouraged to try new media, and that is one reason why I still paint in acrylic. My grandmother would find materials in art stores or would have read about a newly developed medium and I would be the art guinea pig".
After having attended classes at the Kansas City Art Institute, Hook left his hometown of Kansas City to continue his study of fine art at the University of New Mexico. Hook went on to complete his formal education at the Universita Per Straniere (Perugia, Italy) and the Art Center College of Design (Los Angeles, CA). It was his time spent in New Mexico, where the scenery made an indelible impression on the aspiring artist that led him to return to make it his home and frequent subject. "I have painted all over the United States and Europe and continue to find New Mexico at the center of my work".
Mr. Hook's paintings can be found in the permanent collections of the Denver Art Museum, the Tucson Art Museum, the University of New Mexico, the FORBES Museum, NYC, and the Genesee Museum, NY. In addition, Hook's work is featured in prints for the New Mexico Symphony, Music from Angel Fire, and the Santa Fe Opera.
EDUCATION:
1970-72 Art Center College of Design - Los Angeles, CA
1969 Universita Italiana per Straniere - Perugia, Italy
1966-70 BFA, Fine Art - University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
1963-66 Kansas City Art Institute - Kansas City, MO
AWARDS & HONORS
2008 Olaf Weighurst Best of Show - Mountain Oyster Club Western Art Show & Sale
2005 Artist in Residence - Big Sur Environmental Institute @the Brazil Ranch - Big Sur
2004 Music from Angel Fire Chamber Music Festival Featured Poster Artist
2003 Carmel Plein Aire Festival - Best Local Artist
2002 Carmel Plein Aire Festival - Honorable Mention
2000 Artists of America - Master Artist Award
1997 New Mexico Symphony Orchestra - Featured Poster Artist
1996 Music from Angel Fire Chamber Music Festival - Featured Poster Artist
1996 National Academy of Design, Acrylic Painter of the Year
1995 "Covering the West" - Best of the Southwest Award
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS:
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Tucson, AZ
The Denver Art Museum - Denver, CO
The FORBES Museum - New York, NY
Genesee Museum - NY
Pioneer's Museum - Colorado Springs, CO
The Tucson Art Museum - The John Goodman Collection - Tucson, AZ
The University of New Mexico Fine Arts Museum - Albuquerque, NM
«Return to Artist List
| 
