Will Wilson (born 1957) is an American artist known for portrait paintings, illustrations and

Trompe L'Oeil A trompe is a water-powered air compressor, commonly used before the advent of the electric-powered compressor. A trompe is somewhat like an airlift pump working in reverse. Trompes were used to provide compressed air for bloomery furnaces ...

works. His works are held in the collections of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

Early life and education

Wilson was born on August 18, 1957. He attended the Schuler School of Fine Arts, in his hometown of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, from 1975-1979.

Career

Wilson currently lives and works in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. An illustration by Wilson was featured as the cover art on Michael Jackson album '' Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix'' released in 1997. In June 2008, former Maryland governor Bob Ehrlich Jr. unveiled his official portrait painted by Will Wilson. The two were childhood friends in Baltimore, Maryland. A portrait of

Reynolds Price Edward Reynolds Price (February 1, 1933 – January 20, 2011) was an American poet, novelist, dramatist, essayist and James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University. Apart from English literature, Price had a lifelong interest in Biblical ...

painted by Wilson is held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Will Artists from Baltimore American male painters Painters from Maryland Living people 1957 births 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters 20th-century American male artists