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The American landscape is William Hook’s inspiration. Large
skies, low horizons, distant mountains, coastal views, and
textured foregrounds are expressed in his paintings with broad
brushstrokes of vivid color. His work is distinctive and stands
out from the crowd of today’s genre of landscape painters. The
national magazines Southwest Art, Art of the West, U.S. Art,
American Artist and local publications, Carmel Magazine and
Focus Santa Fe, have featured Hook’s work in cover articles that
proclaim his importance as a leading landscape painter. The
book, “Leading the West” by Donald Hagerty, features William
Hook as one of the notable influence 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 for 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 arouse at the Hook
household, there was never a lack of opinions and interest. “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 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). He
spends half his year in his home in Carmel, California and the
other half in his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He finds
inspiration on the Monterey coast, big skies of the southwest,
and through his travels.
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 and the Genesee Museum in NYC.
His artwork has been featured in many solo exhibitions
throughout the country.
Jones & Terwilliger Galleries in Carmel and Palm Desert is proud
to represent William Hook in California.
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