William C. Hook

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 opinion or interest.

“I was always encouraged to try new media, and that is one reason why I still paint in acrylic,” Hook shares. “My grandmother would find materials in art stores or would have read about a newly developed medium and I would be the art quinea pig”.

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.