William Berra was raised in York, Pennsylvania and studied art there at the York Academy before moving on to the Maryland Institute of Fine Arts in Baltimore.  He left his formal training in favor of a nomadic life-style that carried him all across the country seeking subject matter for his plein-air paintings.  A winter storm stranded him in Santa Fe and he has made it his home ever since.  But the spirit of wanderlust still calls as he travels the world extensively in search of new material to paint.

William’s training as a “plein-air” painter is evident in the loose spontaneity of his pieces although he now does a great deal of his painting in the studio using his travel photographs as reference material.  His ability to make the viewer feel “oh, I’ve been there” has made him one of the most widely collected young artists in the country.

William’s work has been featured at many fine galleries throughout the country.  His work has also been exhibited at the Albuquerque Museum, at the Artists of America show in Denver, the Carmel Plein Air Competition and the Americana Museum in El Paso.  He was also the subject of an extensive article in a recent issue of Southwest Art.