William Meyerowtiz (1887–1981) was an
American artist known for his paintings and etchings. William Meyerowitz was
born in Ukraine on July 15, 1887. He and his father immigrated to New York City
in 1908, and they settled in the Lower East
Side. William studied etching at the National Academy of Design. While he was a student he sung in
the chorus of the Metropolitan
Opera. He was involved with the People's Art Guild, an
organization led by Professor John Weischel, Robert Henri and George
Bellows that brought art directly to poor people. It was
through his work with the People's Art Guild that he met his wife, artist Theresa
Bernstein. The couple would spend their summers in the Gloucester, Massachusetts art colony and the rest of the
year in New York. Both artists were charter members of the Society of Independent Artists. Supreme Court
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes gave him his first portrait
commission, and he completed portraits of several Justices of the Supreme Court. He completed a mural for a post office in Clinton, Connecticut. He died in New York in 1981. His art is in the
permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern
Art, Whitney Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the
Smithsonian American Art Museum.