Exerpt from Pat Utermohlen's 2006 essay on Bill's work.
Again our house was surrounded with friends, one of whom asked William to paint her portrait. He was astonished, never having expected to work for a commission, which was a new experience and of course meant that his work was to a large extent dictated by the client. William is an extremely witty man always quietly observing his companions, missing nothing behind the mask, often inventing names for the individual that summed the personality. The young woman who had requested the portrait came for a sitting in winter wearing a white coat with a hood lined with white fox fur, for us she was ever after known as ‘White Christmas’. The portrait he painted, sees her seated on her couch dressed in blue, backed by decorated blue cushions, her beautiful happy face glowing somehow golden, like the sun. After that success he would from time to time paint portraits of our friends, each individual carefully researched and identified by the objects that most determined their characters.
Blue and Yellow
Willim Utermohlen, 1967
oil on canvas, 48 x 60 cm
Monstera Deliciosa
William Utermohlen, 1967
acrylic and oil on canvas, 31 x 51 cm
Staghorn Fern
William Utermohlen, 1967
oil on canvas, 76 x 101 cm
Yellow Curtain
William Utermohlen, 1967
oil on canvas, 61 x 51 cm
The Green Chair
William Utermohlen, 1968
oil on canvas, 87 x 72 cm
Death of a Friend
William Utermohlen, 1971
oil on canvas
Mother
William Utermohlen, 1971
oil on canvas, 152 x 122 cm
Three Trapped Tigers
William Utermohlen, 1971
oil on canvas, 122 x 152 cm
Tryptique
William Utermohlen, 1971
oil on canvas, 152 x 122 cm
Woman at Piano
William Utermohlen, 1971
oil on canvas
Diana Adam Smith
William Utermohlen, 1977
oil charcoal photogrph on canvas
Double Portrait
William Utermohlen, 1977
oil on canvas, 92 x 106 cm
Plant and Portrait: Simon Rees
William Utermohlen, 1977
oil charcoal photograph on canvas, 51 x 36 cm
Portait in The Garden: Simon Rees
William Utermohlen, 1977
oil charcoal photograph on canvas, 56 x 41 cm
Study in Balck and Silver: Simon Rees
William Utermohlen, 1977
Steven Mather
William Utermohlen, 1980
oil on canvas, 152 x 155 cm
Chris
William Utermohlen, 1982
oil on canvas, 81 x 40 cm
Rosamund
William Utermohlen, 1982
oil on canvas, 122 x 122 cm
Karen Hale
William Utermoheln, 1983
oil on canvas, 152 x 86 cm
Penny Mather
William Utermohlen, 1983
oil on canvas, 152 x 155 cm
Carol Angel
William Utermohlen, 1984
oil on canvas
DC in His Studio
William Utermohlen, 1984
oil on canvas, 186 x 84 cm
Doughty Street: Pat and Bill, First Version
William Utermohlen, 1984
oil on canvas, 182 x 151 cm
Doughty Street: Pat and Bill, Final Version
William Utermohlen, 1984
oil on canvas, 182 x 151 cm
Edith Gubbay
William Utermohlen, 1984
oil on canvas
Portrait
William Utermohlen, 1986
oil on canvas, 81 x 56 cm
Robyn
William Utermohlen, 1986
oil on canvas, 122 x 152 cm
The Hidden Noise
William Utermohlen, 1986
oil on canvas, 122 x 122 cm
Double Portrait
William Utermohlen, 1987
oil on canvas, 106 x 106
Hoxton Studio
William Utermohlen, 1988-90
oil on canvas, 70x 85 cm
Hoxton Studio: Ginny
William Utermohlen, 1989
oil on canvas
