William N. Copley

(American, 1919–1996)

William N. Copley was an American artist known for his erotic and humorous paintings of faceless figures. Also a collector, writer, and gallerist, his space Copley Galleries exhibited Surrealist works by René Magritte, Marcel Duchamp, and Max Ernst in postwar Los Angeles. “I thought that by painting I could sharpen my visual perception and be able to transmit that into my writing,” he once explained. “And once I got started painting I never returned to writing really except for a brief period of journalism.” Born on January 24, 1919 in New York, NY, he was adopted by Ira C. Copley in 1921 and grew up in Aurora, IL. The artist went on to study at Phillips Academy Andover and Yale University before being drafted in the army. Returning home, he worked as a reporter for his father’s newspaper in Los Angeles, where he met his wife Marjorie Doris Wead. It was his wife’s sister’s husband, John Ployardt, with whom Copley eventually started a gallery. After the short-lived gallery went under, he moved to Paris to pursue his painting career, influenced and encouraged by his friends Duchamp and Ernst. Through the following decades, Copley explored romantic relationships and sexuality through his X-rated work, merging a humorous American Pop Art sensibility with his Surrealist roots. The artist died on May 7, 1996 in Key West, FL. Today, his works are included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others.

William N. Copley News

Art Fairs

Price Check! Here's What Sold—and for How Much—at Art Basel Miami Beach

by Artnet News
Price Check! Here's What Sold—and for How Much—at Art Basel Miami Beach
Opinion

William Copley's Truth in Flagvertising

by Blake Gopnik
William Copley's Truth in Flagvertising
Analysis

See the Top 7 Booths at Art Cologne 2016

by Hili Perlson
See the Top 7 Booths at Art Cologne 2016

William N. Copley Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

William N. Copley (670 results)
Baby Buggy, 1978

William N. Copley

Baby Buggy, 1978

Sale Date: November 20, 2019

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (GIRLS IN BLUE-STRIPES), 1987

William N. Copley

UNTITLED (GIRLS IN BLUE-STRIPES), 1987

Sale Date: November 15, 2019

Auction Closed

Femme nue en six médaillons, 1965

William N. Copley

Femme nue en six médaillons, 1965

Sale Date: October 23, 2019

Auction Closed

Le cercueil, 1965

William N. Copley

Le cercueil, 1965

Sale Date: October 23, 2019

Auction Closed

STRAW HAT, 1971

William N. Copley

STRAW HAT, 1971

Sale Date: October 24, 2019

Auction Closed

THINK (FLAG), 1967

William N. Copley

THINK (FLAG), 1967

Sale Date: October 22, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965

William N. Copley

Untitled, 1965

Sale Date: October 25, 2019

Auction Closed

Woman Taken in Adultery, 1964

William N. Copley

Woman Taken in Adultery, 1964

Sale Date: October 25, 2019

Auction Closed

Standing Woman (1965), 1965

William N. Copley

Standing Woman (1965), 1965

Sale Date: October 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Correspondence (from S.M.S. 3), 1968

H.C. Westermann, Dmitri Petrov and William Copley

Correspondence (from S.M.S. 3), 1968

Sale Date: October 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Je m'en fou, 1962

William N. Copley

Je m'en fou, 1962

Sale Date: October 26, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled (Seated Nude and Vignettes from Above)

William N. Copley

Untitled (Seated Nude and Vignettes from Above)

Sale Date: September 26, 2019

Auction Closed

exhibition calendars (two works), 1979

William N. Copley

exhibition calendars (two works), 1979

Sale Date: August 8, 2019

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (THE STRUMPET MUSE - IMAGES FROM..., 1994

William N. Copley

UNTITLED (THE STRUMPET MUSE - IMAGES FROM..., 1994

Sale Date: July 18, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965

William N. Copley

Untitled, 1965

Sale Date: June 1, 2019

Auction Closed

Don't Sneeze, 1994

William N. Copley

Don't Sneeze, 1994

Sale Date: June 5, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1959

William N. Copley

Untitled, 1959

Sale Date: April 30, 2019

Auction Closed

THE BILLIARD LESSON, 1991

William N. Copley

THE BILLIARD LESSON, 1991

Sale Date: March 7, 2019

Auction Closed

UNTITLED, 1985

William N. Copley

UNTITLED, 1985

Sale Date: March 7, 2019

Auction Closed

Baby Buggy, 1978

William N. Copley

Baby Buggy, 1978

Sale Date: March 28, 2019

Auction Closed

SANS TITRE, 1956

William N. Copley

SANS TITRE, 1956

Sale Date: March 20, 2019

Auction Closed

Santa Clara Hot Tub, 1990

William N. Copley

Santa Clara Hot Tub, 1990

Sale Date: February 28, 2019

Auction Closed

Jardinage, 1968

William N. Copley

Jardinage, 1968

Sale Date: February 28, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1964

William N. Copley

Untitled, 1964

Sale Date: February 27, 2019

Auction Closed

English (US)

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