Artist

William Hawkins

born Union City, KY 1895-died Dayton, OH 1990
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Photo © Chas Ray Krider
Also known as
  • William Lawrence Hawkins
Born
Union City, Madison County, Kentucky, United States
Died
Dayton, Ohio, United States
Active in
  • Columbus, Ohio, United States
Biography

William Hawkins was raised on a farm in Kentucky and learned to draw by copying illustrations from horse-auction announcements and calendar pictures. When he was twenty-one, he moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he painted the cityscapes and fantastic animals for which he is best known.

This image of the stadium at Ohio State University is based on an aerial photograph that Hawkins found in a history of the city of Columbus. It is typical of his use of photographs and illustrations for inspiration. His buildings and other urban views focus primarily on the city's local structures, a sort of personal history book of Columbus.

Hawkins painted his earliest large works on scavenged board, which he found on construction sites near his home. The frames are constructed of cast-off pieces of wood molding nailed directly to the painted panel. In spite of his age, Hawkins retained the vitality and enthusiasm of youthful discovery, and said he drew "for all the young people in the United States."(1) As an affirmation of his spirit for life, he signed many paintings with his birthdate, July 27, 1895.


1. Gary J. Schwindler, "William L. Hawkins: Myth in the Making?," Dialogue (July–August 1988):13.

Lynda Roscoe Hartigan Made with Passion: The Hemphill Folk Art Collection in the National Museum of American Art (Washington, D.C. and London: National Museum of American Art with the Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990)

Exhibitions

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We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection
July 1, 2022–March 26, 2023
Smithsonian American Art Museum
We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection traces the rise of self-taught artists in the twentieth century and examines how, despite wide-ranging societal, racial, and gender-based obstacles, their creativity and

Related Books

Cover for the catalogue "We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection"
We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection
We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection traces the rise of self-taught artists in the twentieth century and examines how, despite wide-ranging societal, racial, and gender-based obstacles, their creativity and bold self-definition became major forces in American art. The exhibition features recent gifts to the museum from two generations of collectors, Margaret Z. Robson and her son Douglas O. Robson, and will be on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum July 1, 2022 through March 26, 2023.