William T. Williams is an American painter and educator. Inspired by jazz music and the geometric patterning in quilts, Williams has developed a vibrant, abstract visual vocabulary.
Williams was born in Cross Creek, North Carolina and moved with his family to New York City. Williams received his associate's degree in 1962 from New York City College of Technology and later enrolled at Pratt Institute where he studied with Richard Bove. Williams obtained his bachelor's degree in fine art from Pratt in 1966 and his master's degree in fine art from Yale University in 1968. That same year, the artist was given a residency at the Studio Museum in Harlem and formed the artist collective Smokehouse Associates, which included Melvin Edwards, Guy Ciarcia, and Bill Rose.
Significant museum acquisitions and exhibitions followed in the late 1960s and early 1970s including his first gallery show at Reese Palley Gallery in 1971. Williams taught for nearly 40 years at Brooklyn College and at the summer residency program at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. The artist has received numerous awards and fellowships including the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award at the 30th Annual James A. Porter Colloquium at Howard University.
