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William N. COPLEY (b. 1919, New York – 1996, Sugarloaf Key) was an American artist, writer and art patron whose work combined Surrealist influences, humour and social critique. Largely self-taught, he developed a distinctive figurative style characterised by bold outlines, vivid colours, simplified forms and often irreverent imagery. Addressing themes of sexuality, politics, popular culture and personal experience, his paintings challenged social conventions through irony and playful narrative. Working across painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, printmaking and artist’s multiples, Copley created a personal visual language that connected Surrealism with developments in American Pop Art. In 1948, he co-founded the Copley Galleries in Beverly Hills with artist John Ployardt, presenting works by leading Surrealists including Max Ernst, René Magritte and Man Ray.
Copley’s work has been presented in major international exhibitions, including X-Rated (1972–1974) at Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin (2026); Wild Wild West at Galerie Haas, Zurich (2025); Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962 at the Grey Art Museum, New York (2024–2025); LXCN CPLY at Kasmin, New York (2024); See Yourself as Lovers See You at the Philara Collection, Düsseldorf (2023); William N. Copley: The Coffin They Carry You Off In at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (2018); and major exhibitions surveying his work at The Menil Collection, Houston, and Fondazione Prada, Milan (2016). Earlier exhibitions include a retrospective at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1966), “Bad” Painting at the New Museum, New York (1978), and participation in documenta 7 (1982) and documenta 5 (1972). His work is held in public collections including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and Tate, London.