William Quigley is an American Artist working in East Hampton, NY. He attended Columbia University Graduate School, Philadelphia College of Art, University of Pennsylvania and Tyler School in Rome. Studying under instructors such as Lee Krasner, Alice Neel, Walter Darby Bannard, Christopher Wilmarth, Laurie Anderson, Tom Butter, Louise Bourgeois, John Yau, Jane Wilson, Annette Insdorf, Mark Tansey, Clement Greenberg, and others set a strong commitment to critical creative thinking and work ethic early. Although known for his portraits he has explored a wide variety of subject matter and abstraction in the last 35 years.
In 1985 prior to Columbia graduate school his first show was with Andy Warhol at Henry S. McNeil gallery in Philadelphia. The exhibit titled “Images of a Child’s World” was a collaboration with McNeil, one of the top contemporary US art collectors, and Swiss art dealer Bruno Bischofberger. It was one of Warhol’s last shows and series of works before his untimely death in 1987.
Quigley moved to NYC in 1985 to attend Columbia Grad. While in school continued showing in galleries, and infamous nightclubs like Area, MK, the POP Shop, Tunnel, Palladium, Crobar, + LIFE with curated by Rudolf Piper, Eric Goode, Baird Jones exhibiting with downtown artists Andy Warhol, Jean Michel Basquiat, Peter Beard, Keith Haring, Grace Jones, Julian Schnabel, Andres Serrano, Christof Kohlhofer, Nan Goldin, Crash, Fab 5 Freddy, Richard Hambleton, Mike Bidlo and others of the hip 80s NY art scene.
In 1989 Quigley moved to LA and signed with legendary abstract expressionist dealer Manny Silverman Manny on a $1750. a month stipend. The gallery represented works by Willem de Kooning, (Quigley’s favorite painter), Jackson Pollock, James Brooks, Lee Krasner, Giorgio Cavallon, Ed Dugmore, Joan Mitchell, Sam Francis, Emerson Woelffer, Michael Goldberg, Robert Rauschenberg, Alfred Leslie, Norman Bluhm, etc. In 1991 William was invited to paint with Joan Mitchell at Giverny Monet Gardens in France. Mitchell became ill in 1991, sadly passing away in 1992 cancelling the residency.
In December 1991 William Turner Gallery showed 3 large abstract paintings in the LA Art Fair. Art Basel founder Ernst Beyeler and dealer Ferran Cano saw the works and offered a June show at Basel. Galerie Ferran Cano, exhibited 36 9x12” works on paper creating a 12 ft rectangle on the outside booth wall, inside were works by Joseph Beuys, Miquel Barcelo, Joan Sastre, Pepe Nebot and Giorgio Cattani. Cano extended the invite to a solo show and opportunity to paint at the Miro Foundation studio in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Quigley made 44 works in nine months, virtually selling out the entire Spanish series before returning to the US.
Returning to LA in 1994 he opened the artist run Mayb Gallery in 2 mini malls on Robertson and Highland Ave. The idea came after a friend artist/director Marc Chiat had shown Quigley a 1961 book called “The Store” about Claes Oldenburg’s lower east side art studio and gallery store. Coincidentally, 1961 was the same year Quigley was born. The book was used as the model and business plan for the gallery. After the first show Mayb was renamed AB by its new director Dan Bernier and collector Pamela Armstrong. Subsequently the space’s epic shows and crowded openings helped upstart fledgling talents like Marc Chiat, Manuel Ocampo, Toba Khedoori, Steve Hurd, John Sonsini, Julien Bismuth, Mike Bouchet, Jason Rhoades, Russell Crotty, Dan Fisher, Kevin Sullivan, George Stoll, Dean Karr, Bill Livingston, and Martin Kersels. The press attracted many collectors like Dr. Ken and Karl Tokita who became Quigley’s biggest supporters. Dr. Tokita helped raise financing for MOCA LA in Little Tokyo. Since the mid 1970s The Tokita Medici Med Foundation has collected hundreds of works by artists like Ed Ruscha, Joe Goode, Jasper Johns, Laddie John and Guy Dill, David Hockney, John Baldessari, Chuck Arnoldi, Gwyn Merrill, John McCracken, and Tony Berlant. They have 45 Quigley’s and the largest collection of Ed Moses work in the world.
While in Spain Quigley met critics Achille Bonito Olivia a few times and Diego Cortez. They both put him in touch with curators Klaus Kertess and Jan Hoet to submit work for the 1995 Whitney Biennial. William became friendly with Hoet in Germany at Dokumenta 1992. For the presentation he created a handmade book and performance video with a proposal to stack 50 tv monitors on top of each other leaning against a wall with different videos of him dancing in front of his paintings playing on each screen. A variety of paintings would be leaning against or hung randomly on the wall above the monitors. The whole set up would be shown on paint splattered oriental rugs. Unfortunately, the submission arrived late, Kertess later expressed his disappointment at the missed opportunity. The hand made 50 page Whitney Book is in the Tokita collection. Creating hand-made collage books, has been a part of his career since the early 90s, 3 now sit in the collections Larry Gagosian, Dr. Ken Tokita, and singer Pete Francis.
Quigley has always loved performance art and believes dancing plays a big part in his art. It’s a way of appreciating its history, tradition, and many cultures colliding in one universal form of expression. He had been going to and dancing at many punk clubs for years in Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles. In 1985 when he first moved to NY ended up meeting and dancing with Prince at his club Nells on 14th st. When he lived in LA he would go almost every week to China Club, R&B live and Saturday night to Prince’s club Glam Slam to watch acts Prince, Heavy D, Eminem, Easy E, Tupac, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bruce Springsteen, John Enwhistle, Snoop Dog, Roger Waters,Ice T, Ice Cube, Eric Rakim, Paula Abdul, etc perform in these small intimate venues. On many instances with no hesitation William to the delight of the audience or not would sometimes jump up on stage and dance without warning. He ended up working on or in videos with Prince Janes Addiction, Outkast and Madonna in 1991, 1992 and later 2001 dancing at Rock the Vote with Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz and Gina Gershon in NY at Roseland.
In 1999 tired of LA and wanting to be in NY again decided to move back to NYC and into a giant studio in the Starrett Lehigh Building on 26th St. There he worked closely with friend and visionary manager, producer Judy Wolf. Her talent for linking people together in meaningful projects is unprecedented. To get him reacquainted in NY Judy made an introduction to Big Foote Music brothers Ray and Sherman where he did a commission in the lobby of their top floor hi tech sound studio on Union Square. The night the painting was delivered Sherman Foote reciprocated the gift by blessing Quigley with trip to see and hear the musical piano genius Paul Tillotson. The meeting changed his life. Tillotson and his love trio of drummer James Wormworth, bassist Mike Merritt and Paul’s wife Jane would spend hours of joy and laughter of many many nights of music all over NYC. Everyone loved the unpredictable whims of Paulie T. Not many could command a room or play piano the way Paul did. Judy invited her incredibly director Eric Heimbold to a museum tour of the Jean Auguste Ingres show at the Met. Heimbold insisted on getting his his talented brother Pete Francis, founder of the band Dispatch in the mix. Quigley started working with Pete immediately on the album cover “Who are we living for” the title of a 1992 painting created on his birthday, April 29, while the city was rioting all around his LA studio. The band loved the 10ft painting and asked to use the title and cover of their new cd. Quigley suggested Pete meet Tillotson. The relationship propelled into a partnership that not only led to a lifelong friendship but 11 album cover designs hundreds of shows, live recordings with Eric and Quigley helping promote and market the band, designing stages, and Quigley dancing as “Mr. Wiggles” a character Francis dubbed early in 2000.
On 9/11 2001 William was living on Varrick St in TriBeCa approximately 11 blocks from the Trade Centers. Eric and Pete Francis rescued him out of NYC and brought him to their home in CT. Their father Charles Heimbold took the office of Ambassador to Sweden on 9/12/01 and was he was on one of the only planes to leave the US during that critical time in route to his pivotal new post in Sweden. About a year earlier Venanzio Ciampa William’s publicist and head of Omega commissioned a boxer painting. The piece led to a heavy investigation into the comparisons of being a painter and prize fighter. There were approximately 30 paintings in 3 years of turn of the century fighters. Out of all this energy Pete and William created the company SKRAPPER, which came out of all the boxing paintings Quigley was making. The brand was focused on ART. MUSIC. CLOTHING. In 2004 Dispatch played the largest concert in American Indie history to 110,000 people at Boston’s Hatch Shell. In 2007 and 2015 played sold out shows at Stadiums around the world including Madison Square Garden raising millions for Aids in Zimbabwe. Quigley still owns the brand Skrapper. He has done 9 Fashion shows in NY and LA since 1999 and hosted over 25 Skrapper events with a variety of brands, numerous liquor companies for countless charities and causes.
Try watching this video on www.youtube.com, or enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser.
The Red Bull US marketing director from Germany, was Arne Zimmerman. He came to Quigley’s studio early in 1999. Arne collected a lot of great art and in 2002 opened the hot downtown gallery Pablo’s Birthday. Zimmerman started hosting great shows at his Franklin Street Red Bull space with artists like Peter Weiss, Michael Manning, Carla Gannis, Jimi Billingsley, Frank Gerritz, Ekhart Hahn, Quigley and Peter Beard, The shows were epic reminiscent of the downtown NY openings of the 80s with lots of dancing, celebrating and selling to a variety of people and great collections like Hugo Boss, Mark Holy and the Schuebbe family.
Quigley had been recommended to paint JFK jr and George magazine through Christina Haag, a dear friend of his. Her two brothers, Robert and Andrew owned quite a bit of his art. Soon after he met Sidney Frank owner of a new unknown vodka called Grey Goose inviting him to sponsor a George/City magazine party in April 1999 at his studio in the Starett Lehigh Building. He then urged Arne Zimmerman and Red Bull to supply 10 cases of mixers for the new vodka at the show. To jazz up the affair Quigley collaborated with fashion designer Nicole Moss painting 12 mini skirts and naming them Skrapper skirts. It was the first time Red Bull had combined with Grey Goose Vodka. About 200 people were at the opening including Jay Chiat. Jay was a friend through his son Marc Chiat, who is like a brother with Quigley. Jay came to visit a few times and loved the studio. Jay loved the vibe and building so much he rented 30,000 square feet and moved his new company Screaming Media and partner Allen Ellman from Wall St into the 13th floor. Chiat Day created the brand Absolut Vodka. When Syd Frank asked Quigley to introduce him to Jay at the opening, he was taking to Williams mother Janet. Syd politely interrupted and proposed a partnership with Grey Goose. Jay responded “get Quigley to do it, he’s a great marketer.” About 2 weeks after the show Quigley was asked by Grey Goose how he would propose to brand the new liquor. He said he would give it away, like Dispatch was doing with music. He started promoting the vodka all over NY giving cases away for free to nightclubs like Rehab, Cafe Luxembourg and Tao and a few restaurants. He hosted a party Grey Goose Red Bull party with Von Dutch and Hugo Boss in Vegas at Rehab. Both companies went viral. He never made a dime from it.
The producers of ABC Television contacted Quigley in 2004 to be interviewed by George Hamilton for a show called “Life of Luxury: LifeStyles of the Rich and Famous” featuring Madonna, Paul McCarthy, Cheech Marin, and Dennis Hopper. Quigley is still wondering how he fits into all that.
By 2005 Quigley’s work brand Skrapper, Dispatch and Grey Goose were on a roll. Stoked, Jeff Gaited, owner of Uncle Funky’s skate shop and Eric Weinrib were approached by Sony’s Lords of Dogtowns for the film release in May 2005. Gaites and Quigley came up with a concept and pitched it to Milk Studios NY and called Boarding for Breast Cancer. They curated 106 artists like Julian Schnabel, Pete Francis, Paul Tillotson, Marc Chiat, Barry McGee, Michael Halsband, Shaq Oneal, actor Robin Williams, Peter Beard, Danny Clinch etc to create boards that skater Tony Alva provided. The event raised over $400,000 for Breast Cancer. Turns out Quigley thought he was original, but name already existed since 1996. The inspiration for B4BC was a young woman named Monica Steward, who started her battle with breast cancer at the age of 26 and passed two years later of complications that arose from delayed diagnosis. B4BC\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s founders - Lisa Hudson, Kathleen Gasperini, Dawn Kish, and pro-snowboarders Tina Basich and Shannon Dunn.
In 2007 William was being honored by VH1 for all his charity work to participate in a Black Tie Gala at Lincoln Center. Other Honorees included were President Clinton, who would speak, Hillary, Roger Waters, John Mayer, John Sykes, owner of MTV, Mariah Carey, and Jon Bon Jovi. William brought his close friend piano great Paul Tillotson. What seemed like hundreds of cameras were popping on the red carpet for all the honorees. When Quigley and Paul entered the carpet the cameras all dropped and shrugged with a “who’s that” bewildered look on their just a minute ago, excited eager faces. At the pre party the two bumped into Conan O’Brien backstage who knew Paul. As Paul laughed and told jokes, Quigley was being escorted outside the private tent to the lobby by 3 enormous security guards. Eventually after about 15 minutes and a lot of sweat they figured it out. Tillotson was found joking around with Mariah Carey. When the dinner started she said well nice meeting you guys. Little did she know the 2 were sitting next to her at the head table. About a week later Roger Waters ended up at Quigley’s loft with quite a few of his 50 ish yr old female friends and one guy. They all ended up dancing all night until Quigley had to politely ask them to leave at 9am.
In late 2011 Quigley started painting and doing shows in Boston, selling lots of works to collectors Robert Beal of Beal Related and John and Johanna Boynton. John Boynton became his business manager in 2013 as has acquired 14 works in 6 years.
Willem De Kooning is William Quigley’s favorite painter. One 1983 night while a sophmore in college roaming the vacant hallways of the painting department at Phila College of Art he found a soiled, beat up de Kooning Whitney Museum catalog. It was as if he found god, and the catalog a bible. At the age of 19, he had never been to the Whitney or ever heard of the infamous artist. After staying up all night inhaling every page, for breakfast he booked an Amtrak ticket to NY. He had only been to New York once for a Hello Dolly musical high school field trip. By 1990 Quigley was in group shows at Manny Silverman Gallery with de Kooning. He acquired 2 de Kooning works in a trade of his own work in 1991. In 2013 Quigley moved to East Hampton after seeing an ad on craigslist for a large studio. Ironically, the landlord of his studio is Chris Schenck, was de Kooning’s lifelong neighbor and friend. Chris saved de Kooning’s life a few times after drunken binges. And one of his new dealers, Julie Keyes is a very close friend of the de Kooning family.
Since moving to East Hampton in 2013 Quigley hosts a show every summer titled “The Pleasurists” which began with artist Ben Moon. The shows always support a charity like the Artists and Writers Game, Soldier Ride, The first show was hosted by actor Andy Dick, Richard Rubenstein PR and Russian Standard Vodka. The show featured Quigley’s Trump portrait. The show was supporting Guild Hall and Amagansett Talkhouse Soldier Ride. Quigley had ineffectivelytried to get in touch with Trump’s organization and family for 7 years to no avail. No one expected it to sell let along to Donald Trump. It did.
In 2015 producer Brian Sullivan and Vice director/ producer Dominic Musachiccio approached William about making a documentary on his art and career. There is now 4 years of footage being edited. While filming in Miami in Art Basel 2016 Karl Hutter working with Van de Weghe Gallery at the fair offered an April solo show in his Beverly Hills gallery. Quigley made a 32 ft painting homage to Picasso’s Guernica. The 6 panel painting was inspired by chaos and division in the country surrounding the 2016 election. In 2013 Donald Trump had purchased an 8ft portrait Quigley painted in 2006. At the time not many were predicting Trump to win the presidency. Karl showed Quigley’s work privately at Art Basel in 2017 and 2018.
Although not yet having many museum shows, resale or major auction records to date, most of the success has come from ambitious, unconventional avenues that have led to an army of devoted collectors, many of whom own 5, 10, 20, and a few over 30 works and one Tokita, 45 pieces. John and Johanna Boynton have purchased 14 pieces since 2012 and Alexander Zweig bought 9 abstract works in 2015 online without meeting William or seeing the works in person. In 2015 Keith Stoltz owner of about 11 major paintings since 2005 commissioned a 13 ft piece for Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studio. Stoltz bought the studio in 2011. This year Sept 18 marks the 50th anniversary of Hendrix death. Quite a few of his collectors can be found on lists of the “Art World’s Top Collectors”.
In 2018 actor Chris Evans commissioned William to make a surprise 6ft painting for Robert Downey Jr using the cover of a 1973 Stan Lee marvel comic as the base influence. Chris charmingly requested “Can you put some of those scribbling swords in it?” Robert returned the favor with his own surprise and thanking William publicly by using the painting to open the world premiere of Avengers End Game in Shanghai China to millions. He has painted commissioned portraits of, and often for, Presidents Clinton and Bush, Audrey Hepburn foundation, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert Beal, Keith Stoltz, Electric Lady Studios, John and Johanna Boynton, Pete Francis, Shaq, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Robert Downey Jr., Muhammad Ali and a host of others. A 2006 Trump portrait sold to Donald Trump in 2013 in support of Wounded Warrior Soldier Ride , became one of the most talked about paintings globally in 2019. His paintings are in over 450 collections internationally, exhibiting throughout the US, India, Asia, South America and Europe.