Biography

The Artist: William Wolk (January 1951 – May 2022)

Born in 1951 in Miami Beach, Florida, William Wolk is recognized as one of America’s most exquisite realist painters. His subjects are varied: Still Lifes, Dancers and Figures, Animals, Landscapes and Portraits. As a child he began drawing free-hand charcoal portraits at age eight. By age nine, he was working diligently at an easel in oils. By age sixteen, Wolk made his professional debut by selling nine paintings at the fourth annual Coconut Grove Arts Festival in Coconut Grove, Florida. At age seventeen, he spent one year in drawing study at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida (currently the Ringling College of Art and Design), but was soon told by his professor that his talent would be better served by study in Italy. At eighteen, Wolk moved to Florence, Italy to study at the the Florence Academy of Art and to engage in intensive self-study in the city’s magnificent museums and cathedrals. He returned to the United States to begin his career with a one man show in Coral Gables, Florida at age nineteen. Wolk is a self-taught painter.

Wolk’s work can be found in the collections of:

      • President G.W. Bush; Presidential Archive
      • USGA Museum; Permanent Collection
      • Mikhail Baryshnikov; Personal Archive
      • Tom Clancy; Author
      • Guilford College Museum of Art; Permanent Collection
      • William Como; Editor in Chief – Dance Magazine
      • Chairpersons, Presidents and CEO’s of numerous Fortune 500 Corporations, Private collectors throughout the United States and several European and South American countries.

Accomplishments

      • 2022 Portrait of Wavy Gray – “Bubblicious” / Gift to Seva Foundation and co-signed by Wavy Gravy to raise awareness and contributions for Seva Foundation. Slated to be placed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame upon Wavy Gravy’s induction. This was Wolks’ final painting completed just one month before his passing.
      • 2021 Portrait of Paramahansa Yogananda / Gifted to the Permanent Collection of Self Realization Fellowship.
      • 2013 William Wolk Fine Art opens at The Ritz-Carlton / Sarasota, Florida
      • 2011 One-Man-Exhibition / Emperors and Scavengers / Birds of the Florida Gulf / Ringling College of Art and Design / Willis A. Smith Galleries / Sarasota, FL
      • 2008 – Portrait of Sam Snead inducted into the permanent collection of
        the USGA Museum in Far Hills, NJ.
      • 2008 – The William Wolk Gallery of Fine Art celebrates twenty-
        five years at The Greenbrier – White Sulphur Springs, WV.
      • 2008 – One Man Show – West Virginia Division of Culture and
        History – Dance Festival Exhibit – Charleston, WV.
      • 2007 Honored in a ceremony at The Oval Office where his
        Post 9/11 Portrait of George W. Bush was inducted into
        the Presidential Collection.
      • 2006 Published – William Wolk – Fine Art at The Greenbrier
        by Ananda Hill Press.
      • 2000 Guilford College Museum acquires a William Wolk
        self-portrait for their permanent collection – Greensboro, NC.
      • 1994 Published – William Wolk – Paintings by Jalmar Press.
      • 1989 Group Show – “The Food Show” – Grand Central Art
        Galleries – New York, NY.
      • 1986 One Man Show – Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts –
        Pittsburgh, PA.
      • 1986 One Man Show – Atlanta International Airport –
        sponsored by Air Atlanta – Atlanta, GA.
      • 1985 One Man Show – The Tatem Gallery – Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
      • 1984 Opening of The William Wolk Gallery of Fine Art at
        The Greenbrier – White Sulphur Springs, WV.
      • 1983 One Man Show – The Harkness House Gallery – New York, NY.
      • 1982 Published – Three paintings as posters by Bruce McGaw
        Graphics – New York, NY.
      • 1982 Entitled: Artist in Residence – The Harkness House –
        New York, NY.
      • 1982 One Man Show – Lincoln Center Gallery – Metropolitan
        Opera House – New York, NY.
      • 1982 One Man Show – David Gary Gallery – Short Hills, NJ.
      • 1981 One Man Show – Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts –
        Pittsburgh, PA.
      • 1975 One Man Show – RJK Gallery – Atlanta, GA.
      • 1972 One Man Show – Collector’s Cove Gallery – Atlanta, GA.
      • 1970 One Man Show – The Vasili Gallery – Coral Gables, FL.