William Quigley

William Quigley is an American artist born in Philadelphia in 1961. He attended Philadelphia College of Art, University of Pennsylvania, Tyler School in Rome, and Columbia University Graduate School. He has painted commissioned portraits of, and often for, Presidents Clinton and Bush, Audrey Hepburn foundation, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert Beal, Mick Jagger, Jimi Hendrix for Electric Lady Studios, Kobe Bryant, Pete Francis, Shaquille Oneal, Michael Jordan, Kevin Spacey, Kobe Bryant, Robert Downey Jr., Muhammad Ali, Bruce Springsteen and a host of others. A 2006 Trump portrait sold to Donald Trump in 2013 in support of Wounded Warrior Soldier Ride and became one of the most talked about paintings globally in 2019. His paintings are in over 450 collections internationally, exhibiting throughout the US, India, Asia, South America and Europe.  Although known for portraiture, his work consists of a wide exploration of abstraction using a variety of materials, subject matter, text. Through the influence of teachers such as Lee Krasner, Alice Neel, Walter Darby Bannard, Louise Fishman, Christopher Wilmarth, Laurie Anderson, Tom Butter, Louise Bourgeois, John Yau, Jane Wilson, Mark Tansey, and Clement Greenberg, instilled is the importance of challenge and change in the creative process.

In June 1985 right out of college before attending graduate school his first show was with Andy Warhol at Henry S. McNeil gallery in Philadelphia. Titled “Images of a Child’s World” was a collaboration with McNeil, one of the top contemporary US art collectors, and Swiss art dealer Bruno Bischofberger.

After the first show he moved to NYC to attend Columbia Grad. continuing to show in downtown galleries and infamous nightclubs like Area, Palladium with downtown artists Andy Warhol, Jean Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Grace Jones, Richard Hambelton, Julian Schnabel, Robert Longo, Andres Serrano and others of the 80s NY art scene. 

In 1989 moved to LA and started a series of large abstract paintings that caught the attention of Manny Silverman Gallery. Soon he was showing alongside master works by Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, James Brooks, Adolf Gottlieb, Lee Krasner, Giorgio Cavallon, Ed Dugmore, Joan Mitchell, Sam Francis, Emerson Woelffer, Michael Goldberg, Robert Rauschenberg, Alfred Leslie, Norman Bluhm, etc. In 1991 was invited to paint with Joan Mitchell at Giverny Monet Gardens in France. Mitchell became ill in 1991, sadly passing away in 1992 cancelling the residency. 

In December 1991 William Turner Gallery showed 3 large abstract paintings in the LA Art Fair. Art Basel founder Ernst Beyeler and Spanish dealer Ferran Cano saw the works and offered a June show at Basel. For the fair Galerie Ferran Cano chose 36 works on paper, exhibited with works by Joseph Beuys, Miquel Barcelo, Joan Sastre, Pepe Nebot and Giorgio Cattani. Following the fair Cano invited to Quigley a residency to paint at the Miro Foundation studio in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Quigley made 44 works in nine month, selling nearly every painting he created there.

Returning to LA in 1994 he opened the artist run Mayb Gallery with his friend artist/director Marc Chiat in 2 mini malls on Robertson and Highland Ave. The idea came from a Claes Oldenburg book Chiat lent him titled “The Store” based on a 1961 lower east side art studio/ gallery store Oldenburg opened. Mayb was renamed AB by its new director Dan Bernier promoting artists Marc Chiat, Manuel Ocampo, Toba Khedoori, Steve Hurd, John Sonsini, Julien Bismuth, Mike Bouchet, Jason Rhoades, Russell Crotty, Dan Fisher, Kevin Sullivan, George Stoll, Dean Karr, Bill Livingston, and Martin Kersels.

AB Gallery led to a lot of press and success. In Spain Quigley met critics Achille Bonito Olivia and Diego Cortez, who put him in touch with curators Klaus Kertess and Jan Hoet, inviting a submission for the 1995 Whitney Biennial. He presented a handmade sketchbook of his Whitney proposal, a wall lined with paintings, and old tv monitors stacked on top of each other featuring videos of him dancing.

Unfortunately, the submission arrived late. Kertess expressed his disappointment at the missed opportunity. The hand made 50 page Whitney Book is in the Dr. Ken and Karl Tokita collection. Dr. Ken Tokita helped raise the money to build MOCA in little Tokyo, LA. They currently own 45 Quigley works.

Throughout his career Quigley has incorporated dance and performance art in his work. In the mid 80s he had a segment on MTV’s Mel Toxic show dancing and doing performance street art. And in the 90s made a series of videos dancing alone in his studio while painting. To finance his art he worked as a set painter, art director, extra, or backup dancer in quite a few Madonna, Prince, Janes Addiction, Outkast, Slick Rick, Fred Durst, Ice Cube, Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz and other music videos and commercials.

In 1999 tired of LA moved back to NYC and into a giant studio in the Starrett Lehigh Building on 26th St. Immediately after moving to NYC met musical piano genius Paul Tillotson, and his love trio, drummer James Wormworth, bassist Mike Merritt. Soon after met brothers director Eric Heimbold and musician Pete Francis, founder of the band Dispatch. Pete started collecting Quigley’s paintings immediately and asked him to design the cd cover of Dispatch’s latest album. They chose a piece titled “Who are we living for” a 10ft 1992 painting created on his birthday, April 29, while the LA riots were happening outside his West Hollywood studio. The relationship not only led to a lifelong friendship but 11 album cover designs, hundreds of shows, stage designs, and re-emergence of Quigley’s performance dance act, Francis coined “Mr. Wiggles”; a fan favorite. Dispatch played in arenas all over the world including 7 sell out nights at Madison Square Garden in 2007 and 2015.

From 1999 to 2006 showed with Arne Zimmermann, Pablos Birthday Gallery. Arne was the US head of marketing for Red Bull. In 1999 Quigley introduced Arne and Red Bull to Grey Goose owner Sydney Frank. The first cocktail was mixed at the opening of his April 29, 1999 show.

In 2004 ABC Television contacted Quigley to be interviewed by George Hamilton for a show called “Life of Luxury: LifeStyles of the Rich and Famous” featuring the art collections of Madonna, Paul McCarthy, Cheech Marin, and Dennis Hopper.

In 2005 Quigley Jeff Gaites, owner of Uncle Funky’s skate shop and Eric Weinrib were approached by Tony Alva and Sony Pictures to help promote the Movie Lords of Dogtown. Gaites and Quigley curated an art show at Milk Studios NY naming it Boarding for Breast Cancer, inviting artists to paint skateboards for an auction to raise money for breast cancer: included were Julian Schnabel, Pete Francis, Paul Tillotson, Marc Chiat, Barry McGee, Petra Nemcova, Michael Halsband, Shaq Oneal, Hope Atherton, actor Robin Williams, Peter Beard, Danny Clinch, 90+ others created boards. The event raised over $400,000 for Breast Cancer.

In 2007 Quigley was honored by VH1 as their Visual Artist of the Year at Lincoln Center for all the philanthropic charity work he’s been part. Other Honorees that night were President William and Hillary Clinton, Roger Waters, John Mayer, John Sykes, Mariah Carey, and Jon Bon Jovi.

In 2013 moved to East Hampton from Soho NY.

In 2016 did a solo show with Karl Hutter Fine Art in LA. 2017-2018 Karl exhibited works privately at Art Basel.

In 2018 actor Chris Evans commissioned William to make a surprise 6ft painting for Robert Downey Jr . Downey used the painting to open the world premiere of Avengers End Game in Shanghai China in 2019 asking others to help his mission supporting The Rohhad Association.

Quigley’s passion to help others runs just as deep as his desire to paint. He hopes to continue using his art and shows to raise as much awareness for those in need as humanly possible.