Artist Biography & Facts

William J Hixson

WILLIAM J. HIXSON 

BORN: July 9 1922, Shawnee, Oklahoma, son of John and Ella (Moss) Hixson. Served in U.S. Army 42nd Infantry, Division WW2 1940-47 SW Pacific Theatre of Operations 1942-46. Permanent residence since 1950, Seattle, Washington

EDUCATION: Class of '40, Monmouth High School, Monmouth, Oregon, Bachelor of Art, and Master of Fine Art from the University of Oregon, Diplomate, Academie de la Grande Chaumiere, Paris, France.

ACADEMIC RECORD: Professor Emeritus, University of Washington, Visiting Professor of Art, University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C., Canada, Director of Overseas Programs in Provence, France for the School of Art, University of Washington, Artist-in-Residence, Pago Pago, American Samoa.

STYLES are Abstract Expressionism, allegorical and metaphorical, and Realistic. The SUBJECTS are still-lifes, portraits, and en plein air landscapes.

ART ORGANIZATIONS: Member of Artist's Equity. President of Artists' Equity 1964.

EXHIBITS OF PAINTINGS
1950
Artists of Oregon Annual Exhibit, Portland Art Museum Portland, Oregon
Northwest Annual Exhibit of Painting and Sculpture, Seattle Art Museum
One Man Exhibit of Recent Paintings, Henery Art Gallery, University of Washington
One Man Exhibit of Recent Paintings, University of Oregon

1951
Denver Annual Exhibit, Scheller Gallery, Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
Northwest Annual Exhibit of Painting and Sculpture, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Music and Art Foundation Exhibit, Seattle, Washington
Bellevue Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Bellevue, Washington

1952
Denver Annual, Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
Northwest Annual Exhibit of Painting and Sculpture, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Art Today Exhibit Anchorage, Alaska
Music and Arts Foundation, Seattle, Washington

1953
Artists of Organ Annual, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon
Northwest Annual of Painting and Sculpture, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Bellevue, Washington
One Man Exhibit of Recent Paintings, Henry Gallery, University of Washington

1954
Oregon Alumni Exhibit, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
Denver Annual Exhibit of Paintings, Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
Northwest Annual Exhibit of Painting and Sculpture, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Four Man Invitational Exhibits of Paintings, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Washington State Press Club Exhibit, Seattle, Washington
Pacific Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Bellevue, Washington
Artists of Washington Invitational Exhibit, Henry Gallery, University of Washington

1955
Painter's Panorama, American Federation of Art, New York City, New York
Oregon Artists Annual, Portland Art Museum, Portland Oregon
Sixth Annual Exhibit of Drawings, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon
Northwest Annual Exhibit of Painting and Sculpture, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Northwest College Faculty Exhibit, Spokane, Washington
Art Collectors Exhibit, Chi Omega House, University of Washington
One Man Exhibit of Recent Paintings, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon

1956
International Portrait Exhibit, auspices Australian Womin's Weekly, Sydney, Australia.
International Portrait Exhibit Tour five National Museums Australia
American Federation of Artists National Tour, New York, NY
One Man Exhibit of Recent Paintings, College of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington
One Man Exhibit of Recent Paintings, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington

1957
Second West Coast Biennale, Santa Barbara, California

1958
Twelfth Annual Exhibit of Art, Spokane Art Museum, Spokane, Washington
Smithsonian Institute Traveling Exhibit of Paintings, Washington DC
Washington Artists Invitational, Henry Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Northwest Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Bellevue, Washington

1960
Fourteenth Annual Northwest Art Exhibit, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, Washington
1960 Washington State Annual, Wenatchee, Washington
Brandeis University First Annual Exhibit, Brandeis University, Settle, Washington
45th Northwest Annual, of Painting and Sculpture, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
6th Annual West Coast Oil Painting Exhibit, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
One Man Exhibit of Recent Paintings, Henry Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
One Man Exhibit of Recent Paintings, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington
Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Bellevue, Washington

1961
15th Annual Pacific Northwest Art Exhibit, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, Washington
1961 Washington State Annual Exhibit, Wenatchee, Washington
46th Annual of Northwest Painting, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Washington
Tour, 35th Annual of Northwest Painting
Summer '61 Invitational Exhibit, Henry Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
One man Exhibit of recent paintings: Henry Gallery, University of Washington.
One Man Exhibit of recent paintings, University of Puget Sound,
Symposium on the Arts, Port Townsend, Washington

1962
Northwest Annual of Northwest Painting, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Oregon Artists Annual Exhibit of Paintings, Portland, Oregon
Northwest Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Bellevue, Washington

1963
Cedar City Invitational Exhibit of Paintings, Cedar City, Utah,
The Gallery Invitational Exhibit of Paintings, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Pacific Northwest Arts Annual, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
148th Annual of Northwest Artist, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Two Man exhibits of paintings, Marylhurst College, Marylhurst, Oregon

1964
50th Annual of Northwest painting, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Pacific Arts Association, Exhibit, Los Angeles, CA
Washington State Governor's Invitational, Olympia, Washington
Artists Equity Exhibit, Washington Athletic Club, Seattle, Washington
Cedar City Invitational Exhibit of Paintings, Cedar City, Utah
One Man Exhibit of Recent Paintings, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, Washington

1965
Cedar City Invitational Exhibit of Paintings, Cedar City, Utah
The Gallery Invitational Exhibit of Paintings, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
2nd Governor's Invitational Exhibit of Washington Artists, the Capitol Museum, and Olympia, Washington
Washington Artists Invitational, Kobe, Japan

1966
85th Annual San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, California
Northwest Art and Crafts Exhibit, Bellevue, Washington
52nd Annual of Northwest Artists, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington

1967
3rd Annual Washington State Governor's Invitational, Olympia, Washington
West Coast Annual, Frye Museum, Seattle, Washington
Four Men Group Show, Marylhurst College, Marylhurst, Oregon
Cheney Cowles Memorial Museum Annual, Spokane, Washington

1968
Cedar City Invitational, Cedar City, Utah

1969
Artists of Oregon Annual, Portland Art Museum, Portland Oregon

1870
School of Art, University of Washington Exhibit, Henry Gallery, University of Washington.

1971
Artists of Oregon Annual, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon
Northwest Annual Exhibit of Painting, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington

1972
Columbia Basin Exhibit, Pasco, Washington
Artists of Oregon Annual, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon
Northwest Annual Exhibit of Painting, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Juror, Port Angeles Art League, Port Angeles, Washington
Juror, Bothell Summer Festival of Art and Crafts, Bothell, Washington

1973
Washington State Governors Invitational, Olympia, Washington
Artists of Oregon Annual, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon
Northwest Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Bellevue, Washington
Artists Equity Association Exhibit, Seattle, Washington
Anacortes Art Association Exhibit, Anacortes Washington
Juror, Centralia Arts League, Centralia, Washington
Visiting Professor, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

1974
Washington State Governors Invitational, Olympia, Washington
All American Landscape Painting Exhibit, University of Washington, Scuttle, Washington
Artist-in-Residence, Pago Pago, American Samoa
Six Portraits of Samoan Chefs for the Haydon Memorial Museum, Pago Pago, American Samoa
Drawing Demonstrations at T'an, Olesanga, and Manua villages, American Samoa
Juror, Hilo Arts Guild, Hilo, Hawaii
Juror, Windward Art Guild, Honolulu, Hawaii

1975
On Sabbatical Leave from the University of Washington      

1976
Northwest Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Bellevue, Washington
Angeles Artists Guild, Port Angeles, Washington
Lecture, "Centrum," Fort Worden, Port Townsend, Washington
Juror, Lower Columbia   Annual Exhibit, Longview, Washington

1977
On leave from the University of Washington
University of Washington Henry Gallery Exhibit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Lecture, Women Painters of Washington
Juror, Olympic International Exhibit, Port Angeles, Washington

1978
Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Bellevue, Washington
Anacortes Art Guild Exhibit, Anacortes, Washington
Classes at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Avignon, France
United States Patent for the design of an adjustable valve tappet in overhead camshaft engines.

1979
Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Bellevue, Washington

1981
Pacific Arts and Crafts Exhibit, Bellevue, Washington
Mural for the Richland Public Library, Richland, Washington

1982
4 Man Show of paintings, Lincoln Housed, Port Townsend, WASHINGTON
Juror, Artists of Hawaii Membership Exhibit, Honolulu, Hawaii
Juror, AHA Theme Exhibit, Honolulu, Hawaii

1985
Supervisor, Graduate School, College of Art and Science, University of Washington PhD in English, for Rachael Crawford.
Juror, Central Washington Artists 28th Annual Exhibit, Richland, Washington

1986
Bellevue Art Museum Exhibit "Celebration"

1987
Professional Leave
Juror, Richland Artists Guild Regional Exhibit, Richland, Washington

1990
Retired Professor Emeritus from the College of Arts and Science, University of Washington

2004
One Man Exhibit of recent paintings, MCC College, Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Annual plein Air landscape Regional Exhibit, MCC College, Lake Havasu City, Arizona

2005
Mural, The Music of the Spheres Grace Arts Live Theatre

AWARDS
1953
Recommended for purchase, Pacific Northwest annual, Seattle Art Museum

1954
Recommended for purchase, Pacific Northwest annual, Seattle Art Museum
Ackerman Award for painting, Ackerman Gallery, Seattle, Washington
1st Award Art on Pine Street
1st Award Seattle National Boat Show
Certificate of Merit, Press Club

1955
1st Award, Tupperware National Competition
3d Award for painting, Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts

1956
1st Award Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts exhibit
Honorable Mention, Washington Invitational
Honorable Mention, Woessner 3rd Annual
 
1957
3rd Award, Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts exhibit
1st award, Art on Pine Street Exhibit
Honorable Mention Artists of Organ,
Recommended for Purchase, Northwest Annual Exhibit of painting

1958
1st Award, Pacific Northwest Art Exhibit
1st Award, Tacoma Art League Exhibit
1st Award, Art on Pine Street
Honorable Mention, Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Exhibit

1960
Washington State Annual Exhibit
Pacific Northwest Annual Arts and Crafts Exhibit
Honorable Mention, 6th Annual West Coast Exhibit

1962
Recommended for Purchase, Northwest Annual Exhibit of Painting
1st Award, Danforth Foundation Exhibit of Religious painting

1963
Washington State Annual Art Exhibit

1965
Recommended for Purchase, Northwest Annual Exhibit of Painting
Purchase for permanent collection, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington

1966
1st Award, Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Exhibit
2nd Award, Anacortes Art and Crafts Exhibit

1972
Honorable Mention, Columbia Basin Exhibit

2002
lst Award, Regional Annual "Plein Air" Painting Exhibit, MCC College, Lake Havasu City Arizona

2005
Mural, The Music of the Spheres, Grace Arts Live Theatre, Lake Havasu City, Arizona

MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
J.P. Haydon Memorial Museum, Pago Pago, American Samoa
Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, Washington
Tupper Museum, Orlando, Florida

Sources:     
Curriculum Vita, School of Art, University of Washington, and the artist.
 
Submitted by William J. Hixon