William Wolk (January 12, 1951 - May 21, 2022)

Born on Miami Beach in 1951, William Wolk is recognized as one of America’s most exquisite realist painters. His subjects are varied: Still-Life, Dancers & Figures, Animals, Landscapes and Portraits. As a child, he began drawing from a very early age, executing free hand portraits in charcoal at age eight and insisting on painting in oils at age nine. By age sixteen, Wolk made his professional debut by selling nine paintings in the fourth annual Coconut Grove arts Festival in Coconut Grove, Florida.
He is a self-taught painter. Art schools he attended are The Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Fl. and The Academy of Fine Art in Florence, Italy where he studied drawing in 1968 and 1969 respectively.

Wolk’s collectors are devoted and include Chairmen, Presidents and CEOs from Fortune 500 companies including, Wrangler, Coca-Cola, Caterpillar Corp., FMI, N.Y. Life, Lowes, Ahold, CSX and others. Also included are entrepreneurs from the worlds of Finance, Engineering, Literature, Hollywood and Medicine.

Biography ― (Bio goes back to 1967 - see website for complete Biography of noted accomplishments.) Most recent:
2022 Portrait of Wavy Gravy – “Bubblicious” / Gift to Seva Foundation and co-signed
by Wavy Gravy to raise charitable contributions to Seva Foundation. Slated to be placed
in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame upon Wavy Gravy’s induction.
2021 Portrait of Paramahansa Yogananda/ Gift to Self-Realization Fellowship.
2013 William Wolk Fine Art opens at The Ritz-Carlton / Sarasota, Florida.
• The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, A One-Man Show of the work of American realist painter, William Wolk. William Wolk Fine Art, now in its 29th year, opens at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota in April, 2013.

2011 One-Man-Exhibition / Emperors and Scavengers / Birds of the Florida Gulf / Ringling
College of Art and Design / Willis A. Smith Galleries / Sarasota, FL.

2009 Tibet Montage and the Portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Paintings completed for
Friends of Kharnang a 501(c)(3) founded by William & Marie Wolk in January 2008.
• In April 2007, William & Marie Wolk founded a 501(c)(3) foundation entitled Friends of Kharnang to support the projects of His Eminence, Yangtul Kharnang Rinpoche, a Tibetan Lama. The Wolk’s met the Rinpoche in West Virginia and felt moved to help him accomplish the many projects, including the building of a hospital, a home for the aged, running water, classrooms for monks and students, etc. that he is undertaking for the benefit of the monastery and the nomadic population of the region. Wolk created the Tibet Montage painting as a fundraiser. The painting features a portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and took a year and a half to complete.