Bill Hutson

Hutson was born in San Marcos, Texas, United States, on September 6, 1936. His father, Floyd Hutson, was a musician, who died when Hutson was four years old. His mother was a custodian, and she died several years after his father, leaving Hutson and his siblings to live with relatives. Hutson drew throughout his childhood, and took a correspondence course in drawing, but was not aware of art as a career until his late teens.Honig Fine, Elsa (1982). The Afro-American Artist: A Search for Identity. Hacker Art Books. {{isbn|0878172874}}

He died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on September 21, 2022.{{cite web | url=https://lancasteronline.com/obituaries/bill-hutson-1936-2022/article_5660841f-cc1c-51d4-ace0-e7a501bb36e0.html | title=Bill Hutson (1936-2022) | date=2 October 2022 }}

Hutson completed his high-school education in San Marcos, Texas, before enlisting in the United States Air Force.Sternberg, Libby (2010)[https://www.fandm.edu/magazine/archive/features/2010/08/20/the-art-of-giving The Art of Giving: The Life, Work, and Generosity of Bill Hutson]. Franklin & Marshall Magazine. While serving, he took a drawing course at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque from 1956 to 1957. He additionally studied art at Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles Trade Technical College, and the San Francisco Academy of Art in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

In addition to his studies at several colleges and universities, Hutson also completed an apprenticeship with the artist Frank N. Ashley from 1960 to 1962.Hutson, Bill (2022). [http://www.billhutson.com/bio/ Bill Hutson]. Artists' personal website.

From 1963 to 1970, Hutson traveled extensively throughout Europe, visiting cities such as Rome, Paris, London, and Amsterdam. During this time, Hutson's art was exhibited throughout the continent, and as a result, his art resides in many European collections.

In the years following his European travels, Hutson worked a variety of positions, both in museums and academia, including:

• 1974–1976: Graphic Arts Advisor, Audio Visual Research Division, The National Museum of Art, Lagos, Nigeria
• 1979–1983: Adjunct Lecturer, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, NY
• 1984–1987: Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
• 1989: Visiting Artist/Instructor, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
• 1989–2010: Associate Art Professor, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA
• 2005–2022: Jennie Brown Cook and Betsy Hess Cook Distinguished Artist-in-Residence, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA

Hutson's art has been exhibited internationally, in both group and solo exhibitions since 1964. In 2020, Hutson's art was featured in a solo exhibition, titled Bill Hutson: Selections from the Phillips Museum of Art at Franklin & Marshall College, Pennsylvania at the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg, PA.Andrelczyk, Mike (2020). [https://lancasteronline-com.fandm.idm.oclc.org/features/bill-hutson-who-taught-first-lady-frances-wolf-at-f-m-is-subject-of-exhibit/article_5d65df98-63d4-11ea-81fe-cf7bdc6a0d30.html "Bill Hutson, who taught First Lady Frances Wolf at F&M, is subject of exhibit at Pennsylvania Governor's Residence."] LNP News. In 2021, Hutson's art was featured in a solo exhibition at Texas State Galleries in his hometown of San Marcos, TX, as well as a group exhibition at The Art Students League in New York, NY.

Notably, in 2004, Hutson curated an exhibition for the Phillips Museum of Art at Franklin & Marshall College, titled Something To Look Forward To.New York Times Online (July 10, 2005). "ART REVIEWS: Abstraction, Symbolism, Metaphor." Featuring work by acclaimed artists Howardena Pindell, Alvin Loving, Edward Clark, and Sam Gilliam, among others, the exhibition celebrated the art of selected African-American artists over the age of 60.Franklin & Marshall College (2004). Something To Look Forward To: An Exhibition Featuring Abstract Art by 22 Distinguished Americans of African Descent. Franklin & Marshall College. ISBN 0910626022.

In 2016, marking Hutson's 80th birthday, the exhibition Beyond Borders: Bill Hutson & Friends took place at the Mechanical Gallery, University of Delaware (August 31 – December 9, 2016), illustrating the lasting bonds he forged with such literary and visual contemporaries as William Melvin Kelley, Ntozake Shange, Lindsay Barrett, Ed Clark, Larry Potter, Herb Gentry, Sam Middleton, James Little, Nanette Carter, and Melvin Edwards.{{cite web|url=https://bpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/sites.udel.edu/dist/8/1189/files/2016/08/fall16bulletin-for-web-114vo4e.pdf|title=Exhibitions and Events {{!}} Beyond Borders: Bill Hutson & Friends|publisher=University of Delaware {{!}} The University Museums|pages=8–9|date=Fall 2016|access-date=January 2, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://artdaily.cc/news/89134/-Beyond-Borders--opens-at-University-of-Delaware-s-Mechanical-Hall-Gallery |title='Beyond Borders' opens at University of Delaware's Mechanical Hall Gallery|website=ArtDaily|date= 2 September 2016|access-date=January 2, 2025}}

Hutson received several awards and public recognition throughout his career. In 1972, he received the Cassandra Foundation Award. In 1974, he was granted a fellowship through the National Endowment for the Arts in the amount of $7500.National Endowment for the Arts (1974). [https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/NEA-Annual-Report-1974.pdf Annual Report 1974.] In 1980, Hutson received recognition through the Creative Artists Public Service Program (CAPS) in New York, NY.

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Hutson's art has been collected by museums and private collectors all over the world. His art is held at:

• Editions Georges Visat, Paris, France
• Brandywine Graphic Workshop, Philadelphia, PA
• The Arco Collection, Philadelphia, PA
• Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH
• Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
• James E. Lewis Museum of Art, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
• Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
• Boysmans-Van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam, Netherlands
• National Museum of Southern Australia, Adelaide, Australia
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
• National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba
• Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library, New York, NY
• Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH
• Petrucci Family Foundation Collection
• Peter Stuyvesant Collection
• Roberto Matta-Echaurren Collection
• The Phillips Museum of Art, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA

Hutson became involved with Franklin & Marshall College in 1989, when he joined the faculty. He taught in the art department from 1989 to 1999. In 2010, Hutson donated a collection of his art and his personal library and papers, including substantial archival materials, to the college. The collection is shared by the Phillips Museum of Art and the Franklin & Marshall College Library. Hutson was the Jennie Brown Cook & Betsy Hess Cook Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at the college, a position he had held since 2005.Franklin & Marshall College (2022). [https://www.fandm.edu/bill-hutson College Directory: Bill Hutson].

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Category:1936 births

Category:2022 deaths

Category:20th-century African-American painters

Category:20th-century American painters

Category:21st-century African-American artists

Category:African-American United States Air Force personnel

Category:American artists with disabilities

Category:American blind people

Category:Blind artists

Category:Franklin & Marshall College faculty

Category:Hunter College faculty

Category:Ohio State University faculty

Category:People from San Marcos, Texas