WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›William Bailey

William Bailey

American, 1930

WA-00026056

Council Bluffs, United States

DrawingFiguration

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

70%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (1)

MoMA

Field Verification (4 fields)

4 cross-verified · 0 single-source

BiographyMoMA· 93%✓
Birth yearMoMA· 93%✓
LocationMoMA· 93%✓
NationalityMoMA· 93%✓

Source Registry (2)

Sothebyshttps://www.sothebys.com/en/artists/william-bailey
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/289
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

William Bailey was an American painter known for spare, geometrically ordered still lifes and interior scenes rendered in muted tones and classical compositions. Working primarily in oil, he developed a distinctive approach to form and light that emphasized clarity of structure over decorative surface. His practice, rooted in careful observation and restraint, sustained a commitment to figuration and ordered space throughout the postwar period and beyond.

Source: Sothebys · Trust score: 100% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Figuration

Medium

Drawing

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern ArtNew York

Canonical record

Artworks (19)

WattsOS

Untitled (Still Life)

2001 · etching, aquatint, and softground etching

Sheet: 47.5 x 57 cm (18 11/16 x 22 7/16 in.); Platemark: 27.7 x 37.7 cm (10 7/8 x 14 13/16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

WattsOS

Still Life

2000 · graphite

Image: 27.8 x 38.1 cm (10 15/16 x 15 in.); Sheet: 33.8 x 48.2 cm (13 5/16 x 19 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

WattsOS

Untitled Still Life

1987 · etching and aquatint

Cleveland Museum of Art

Still Life--Via del Oca

1985 · Graphite on tan laid paper

42.2 × 48.6 cm (16 5/8 × 19 3/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Half-Length Portrait of a Woman

1983 · Graphite on white wove paper

38.2 × 28.5 cm (15 1/16 × 11 1/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

WattsOS

A Lost Lady

1983 · Illustrated book with one etching and four collotypes

plate 6 15/16 x 4 3/4" (17.6 x 12.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled

1982 · Etching on white wove paper

Image/plate: 37.7 × 30 cm (14 7/8 × 11 13/16 in.); Sheet: 70 × 36.3 cm (27 9/16 × 14 5/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled

1982 · Etching and aquatint on ivory wove paper

Image/plate: 37.7 × 30 cm (14 7/8 × 11 13/16 in.); Sheet: 70 × 36.3 cm (27 9/16 × 14 5/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled

1982 · Etching and aquatint on ivory wove paper

Image/plate: 35.5 × 30 cm (14 × 11 13/16 in.); Sheet: 70 × 36.3 cm (27 9/16 × 14 5/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Mercatale Still Life

1981 · Oil and wax on canvas

30 x 40" (76.2 x 101.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Self-Portrait

1979 · Charcoal with stumping and erasing on cream wove paper

76.2 × 56.5 cm (30 × 22 1/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

WattsOS

Still Life

1978 · lithograph

Sheet: 66 x 77.5 cm (26 x 30 1/2 in.); Image: 45.6 x 57 cm (17 15/16 x 22 7/16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Still Life with Honey Jar

1978 · Gouache on white wove paper

38.1 × 55.9 cm (15 × 22 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

WattsOS

Still Life with Eggs, Candlestick and Bowl from America: The Third Century

1976 · Collotype

Sheet: 29 15/16 × 22 1/16 in. (76 × 56.1 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Self-Portrait

1975 · Opaque watercolor on paper

14 13/16 × 11 1/4 in. (37.6 × 28.6 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Still Life, Migianella

1975 · Oil on canvas

80.7 × 74.9 cm (31 3/4 × 29 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Still Life with Eggs, Candlestick and Bowl from America: The Third Century

1975 · Collotype from a portfolio of five lithograph and screenprints, three collotypes, three screenprints, and two lithographs

composition and sheet: 29 15/16 x 22 1/16" (76 x 56.1cm)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Torso and Head of Nude

1967 · Graphite on ivory wove paper

38.1 × 28.6 cm (15 × 11 5/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

View all 19 artworks →

Artwork sources (4)

19 published of 22 catalogued · 13 with image

Art Institute Chicago
9 published9 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
5 published
MoMA
3 publishedof 6 catalogued4 img
The Met
2 published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 5)

5 entries · 1 sources

Still Life
2000 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Untitled Still Life
1987 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Untitled (Still Life)
2001 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Untitled
1974 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Still Life
1978 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

Movements1

Figuration

Collections5

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern Art Phillips

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

Market

Auction sale history

Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction

Auction house

Phillips

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

No exhibitions or timeline entries yet