American, 1919-1991
Provenance:
Clint Hamilton Estate, Abilene, TX
Bill Bomar was born in Fort Worth, Texas where he started painting at the age of seven and painted only in oils until age sixteen. Born to a well-respected family (Bill Bomar's father, William P. Bomar, was the founding chairman of W.I. Cook Memorial Hospital), Bill Bomar was given many opportunities to learn from great men. In 1940 and 1941 he attended the Cranbrook Art Academy, and in 1942 he began studying with John Sloan in New York, with whom he continued to work later in Santa Fe, New Mexico. After working from the human figure with Sloan, he was instructed by Amédée Ozenfant for one year. Bomar then studied with Hans Hoffman, who provided balance to the strict academicism of Ozenfant. In the late 1940s Bomar studied watercolor technique with Josef Bakos in Santa Fe.
Between his studies, Bomar would occasionally take a year off to work on his own. From childhood, most summers were spent working in New Mexico, where he bought a home in 1968. For several summers in the 1950s, while he was living in New York, he traveled with fellow artists and friends, including cousin Reilly Nail, Jules Kirschenbaum, and Cornelis Ruhtenberg, to study in Welfleet and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1970 he gave up his Chelsea Hotel studio, which he acquired 30 years earlier, thanks to mentor John Sloan, and began living in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico.
Bomar first exhibited in a group show, Six Texas Painters, at the Weyhe Gallery in New York in 1944. This show was followed by numerous one-man and group exhibitions. After his move to Taos, Bomar exhibited widely in New Mexico and Texas while continuing to show in New York. Despite his residency in New York and Taos, Bomar always remained connected to Fort Worth, taking frequent trips to interact with artist friends, such as Marjorie Johnson-Lee, Cynthia Brants, and Kelly Fearing. This allowed him to play a key role in the Fort Worth Circle, even though he lived primarily outside of Fort Worth. In 1980, Bomar, with cousin Reilly Nail co-founded the Old Jail Art Center to which Bomar remained committed until his death in 1991.
