Bill Anton was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois in 1957. After seeing the American West for the first time at the age of seven, Anton vowed to someday return to the West for good. At the age of nineteen he moved to Arizona where he continues to reside today. Anton graduated from Northern Arizona University, majoring in English. Exposed to art at an early age, Anton drew constantly from the time he was old enough to hold a pencil. 1982 was a pivotal year for Anton when he rode in roundups and worked with cattle on ranches in Flagstaff and Prescott, and simultaneously turned to creating art full time. Spending time outdoors, Anton developed a natural love of plein-air painting and became inspired by the work of Anders Zorn, Edgar Payne, and Frank Tenney Johnson. To further his outdoor painting skills he studied under artists Michael Lynch and Ned Jacob.Anton is well-known for his poetic landscapes of the West, often incorporating the cowboy life as part of his broader theme. He describes the intent of his work, "I do not see myself as a biographer of the cowboy. I know some artists feel they are recording history on the ranches as life there is today, but the focus of my work has always been mood and passion. If I'm recording anything, I'm recording how I feel about the West."

Selected Collections

Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma; The Old West Museum, Cheyenne, Wyoming; Sears, Roebuck & Co. Corporate Art Collection; Dupont Corporate Art Collection; State Farm Insurance; Bank of America; Hewlett Packard; and Trust Company of the West

Selected Exhibitions

Prix de West, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK; Masters of the American West, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA; National Center for American Western Art, Kerrville, TX; Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum, Cheyenne, WY; National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY