William T. Wiley was born in Bedford, Indiana, in 1937. He attended the San Francisco Art Institute, where he received his BFA in 1961 and MFA in 1962. His first solo exhibition was held at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1960. Since then, his work is in the permanent collections of institutions such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and the Stedelijk van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. His awards include: Painting Prize, San Francisco Art Institute, 1959; First Prize, San Francisco Art Institute Festival, 1960; Fletcher Award, California School of Fine Arts, 1960; First Prize in Painting, Oakland Annual, 1960; New Talent Award, Art In America, 1961; Painting Prize, 65th Annual Exhibition, Art Institute of Chicago, 1962; Sculpture Prize, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1962; Creative Arts Award, University of California at Davis, 1968; Purchase Prize, Whitney Museum, New York, 1968; Nealie Sullivan Award, San Francisco Art Institute, 1968; Bartels Prize, 72nd American Exhibition, Art Institute of Chicago, 1976; Traveling Grant to Australia, Australian Arts Council, 1980; Honorary Doctorate at S.F.A.I., San Francisco, California; Honorary Doctorate, S.F.A.I. 1980; Honor and Awards, American Academy of Letters and Arts, New York , New York; 2004 Life Work Award, Marin Arts Council; 2004 Guggenheim Fellowship Award; and the 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award in Printmaking from the Southern Graphics Art Council.