William Utermohlen
William Utermohlen (1933–2007) was an artist in the 1900s and early 2000s. Now infamous as the artist who drew himself with Alzheimer’s Disease, William had a relatively successful career before he was diagnosed with the disease. William also had a short career in the army in the 1950s.[1][2]
Early life (1933-91)
William or Bill Utermohlen was born to a German family in Southern Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 5 1933. His early career began after he earned a scholarship in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1957. Traveling through Western Europe with the GI Bill since he served in the Vietnam War, William enrolled in the Ruskin School of Art, Oxford, but in 1964, moved to London where he married historian Patricia Redmond. William’s paintings during this period can be classified as the ‘Mythological’ of 1962-3, the ‘Cantos’ of 1965-6, the ‘Mummers’ of 1969-70, ‘War’ series flashbacks to William’s career in the Vietnam War, ‘Nudes’ of 1973-4, and the ‘Conversation’ pieces of 1989-1991, which were based on early memory.[3][4][5]
Alzheimer’s Disease and death (1995-2007)
In 1995, William, at age 62, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.[6] The last ‘conversation’ pieces were self portraits, yet, the Alzheimer’s disease began to affect his artwork, as from 1995 to 1997, William’s portraits become more and more unrecognizable.[7]William’s last portraits in 2001 were only sketches of a face, showing the affect, Alzheimer’s disease took on his body’s capacity to observe. William died on March 21 2007, of Pneumonia.[8]
References
- ^ Artist With Alzheimer's Disease Draws Himself as Condition Progresses, retrieved 2021-05-02
- ^ "Featured Articles". www.williamutermohlen.org. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
- ^ Clive, Baldwin; Andrea, Capstick (2007-10-01). Tom Kitwood On Dementia: A Reader And Critical Commentary. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). ISBN 978-0-335-22271-1.
- ^ Bradley, Ronald J.; Harris, R. Adron; Jenner, Peter; Rose, F. Clifford (2006-05-19). The Neurobiology of Painting: International Review of Neurobiology. Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-08-046361-2.
- ^ "William Utermohlen : A Persistence of Memory - Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago - Chris Boïcos Fine Arts". boicosfinearts.com. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
- ^ Grady, Denise (2006-10-24). "Self-Portraits Chronicle a Descent Into Alzheimer's". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
- ^ "Words fail us: dementia and the arts". the Guardian. 2015-07-19. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
- ^ Clive, Baldwin; Andrea, Capstick (2007-10-01). Tom Kitwood On Dementia: A Reader And Critical Commentary. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). ISBN 978-0-335-22271-1.