| 1919 |
Born in New York NY, USA |
| 1932-36 | Academic Studies at Phillips Academy in Andover MA, USA |
| 1936-38 | Academic Studies at Yale University in New Haven CN, USA |
| 1996 | Dies in Key West FL, USA |
Solo Exhibitions
| 2022 |
Sadie Coles HQ, Bury Street, London, England |
| 2020 |
with Helmut Newton, Galerie Friese, Berlin, Germany The New York Years, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York NY, USA William N. Copley: Drawings and Paintings 1966 – 1991, Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles CA, USA The Temptation of St. Anthony (Revisited), Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles CA, USA The Ballad of William N. Copley, Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin, Germany |
| 2019 |
Candice Breitz: Sex Work, In Dialogue with Works by William N. Copley from the Frieder Burda Collection, Museum Frieder Burda, Salon, Berlin, Germany |
| 2018 |
The Coffin They Carry You Off In, ICA Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, Miami FL, USA |
| 2017 | Women, Paul Kasmin Gallery, 515 W. 27th Street, New York NY, USA |
| 2016 | The World According to CPLY, The Menil Collection, Houston TX; Fondazione Prada, Milan, Italy |
| 2015 |
with Saul Steinberg, es aufnehmen mit dem Leben, Galerie Klaus Gerrit Friese, Berlin, Germany Paintings from 1960-1994, Showroom by Paul van Esch & Partners Art Advisory, Amsterdam, Netherlands Drawings (1962 – 1973), Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 2014 | Paintings and Mirrors, Michael Fuchs Galerie, Berlin, Germany |
| 2013 |
Confiserie CPLY, Marktplatz 19, Basel, Switzerland Finally We Laugh, Galerie Linn Lühn, Dusseldorf, Germany |
| 2012 |
The Patriotism of CPLY and All That, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York NY, USA Works 1948 – 1983, Galerie von Braunbehrens, Munich, Germany Frieda Burder Museum, Baden-Baden, Germany |
| 2011 |
See Yourself As Lovers See You, Galerie Klaus Gerrit Friese, Stuttgart, Germany X-Rated, Sadie Coles HQ, South Audley Street, London, England |
| 2010 | me Collectors Room, Berlin, Germany X-Rated, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 2009 | Galerie Klaus Gerrit Friese, Stuttgart, Germany Western songs, El Sourdog Hex, Berlin, Germany Linn Lühn, Cologne, Germany |
| 2007 | Linn Lühn, Cologne, Germany |
| 2006 | Works from the 1970’s, Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York NY, USA Galerie manus presse/Klaus Gerrit Friese, Stuttgart, Germany |
| 2005 | Galerie Onrust, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 2004 |
Au bonheur des dames, 1958 – 1990, Mamco-Musèe d’art moderne et contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland S.M.S. The Letter Edged in Black Press, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago IL, USA Galerie Daniel Blau, Munich, Germany |
| 2003 | Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York NY, USA Easy to Read Storybook, BAWAG Foundation, Vienna, Austria Johann Konig, Berlin, Germany |
| 2002 | Drawings 1956-1994, Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany |
| 2001 | Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York NY, USA Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, Netherlands |
| 2000 | Copley Collects CPLY, Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York NY, USA Bilder, Galerie Schonewald und Beuse, Dusseldorf, Germany |
| 1999 | Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany L.A.C., Lieu d'Art Contemporain, Sigean, France Galerie Daniel Blau, Munich, Germany Herning Kunstmuseum, Herning, Germany |
| 1998 | Galerie Lelong, Zurich, Switzerland Galerie Onrust, Amsterdam, Netherlands Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1997 | Ulmer Museum, Ulm, Germany Galerie Kurt Schafer, Berlin, Germany |
| 1996 | The Essential Cply, David Nolan Gallery, New York NY, USA Pictures, watercolours, drawings, Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany New Paintings, Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York NY, Germany |
| 1995 | Kestner-Gesellshaft, Hamburg, Germany Galerie Lelong, Zurich, Switzerland Galerie Kurt Schafer, Berlin, Germany Galerie Zell am See, Schloss Rosenberg, Austria Galerie Michael, Heidelberg, Germany Galerie Brigitte Ihsen, Cologne, Germany |
| 1994 |
Paintings and Drawings, Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York NY, USA Galerie Heike Curtze, Vienna, Austria |
| 1993 |
Berliner Amerikaner, Haus Am Lutzowplatz, Berlin, Germany Galerie Zell am See, Schloss Rosenberg, Austria |
| 1992 |
Images 1956-1992, Gallery Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany Galleria Peccolo, Livorno, Italy |
| 1991 | Paintings and Drawings 1956 – 1991, David Nolan Gallery, New York NY, USA Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York NY & Chicago IL, USA Galerie Klewan, Munich, Germany |
| 1990 | Galerie Klewan, Munich, Germany Phyllis Kind Gallery, Chicago IL, USA |
| 1988 | Galerie 1900/2000, Paris, France |
| 1987 | Kewenig Galerie, Frechen-bachem, Germany Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1986 | The Tomb of the Unknown Whore (installation), New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York NY, USA |
| 1985 | Acopleyshments, 1955 – 1985, Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York NY, USA The Quay Gallery, San Francisco CA, USA Galleria Monte Napoleane, Milan, Italy |
| 1983 | Post-Raphaelite Painting by William N. Copley, Reinhard Onnasch Ausstellungen, Berlin, Germany Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1982 | Phyllis Kind Gallery, Chicago IL, USA |
| 1981 | Bilder und Zeichnungen, Galerie Klewan, Munich, Germany CPLY, Kunstlerwerkstatt, Lothringerstrasse, Munich, Germany Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York NY, USA A RetrospeCPLYtive, Brooks Jackson Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1980-81 |
William N. Copley, Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Musee National D’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Netherlands and Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, Germany (touring) Brooks Jackson Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1979 | CPLY: Reflections on a Past Life, Institute for the Arts, Rice University, Houston, Texas TX, USA CPLY/X-Rated Paintings, Galerie Fassbender, Munich, Germany |
| 1978-79 |
Variations on a Theme by Francis Picabia, David Stuart Galleries, Los Angeles CA, USA Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York NY, USA Galerie Rudolf Zwirner, Cologne, Germany |
| 1978 |
The Temptation of St. Anthony, Brooks Jackson Gallery Iolas, New York NY, USA Galerie Fassbender, Munich, Germany |
| 1977 | Phyllis Kind Gallery, Chicago IL, USA |
| 1976 |
Washington Art Association, Washington CT, USA The Patriotism of CPLY: 1776 and All That, Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1975 | Erik Nord Gallery, Nantucket MA, USA |
| 1974 | Western Songs, Galerie Onnasch, Cologne, Germany Onnasch Gallery, New York NY, USA Moore College of Art, Philadelphia PA, USA X-Rater: An Exhibition of New Paintings and Drawings, New York Cultural Center, New York NY, USA |
| 1973 | CPLY, Gallerie Il Fauna, Turin, Italy |
| 1972 | Gallery Suzanne Saxe, San Francisco CA, USA Galerie Iolas, Milan, Italy & Paris, France Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York NY, USA David Stuart Galleries, Los Angeles CA, USA Galerie Michael Werner, Cologne, Germany GalerieAspects, Brussels, Belgium Galerie du Dragon, Paris, France |
| 1971 | Nouns, Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1970 |
Galerie Aspects, Brussels, Belgium David Stuart Gallery, Los Angeles CA, USA |
| 1969 | Ballads, Galerie Iolas, Geneva Gallerie de Leone, Venice, Italy Merida Gallery, Louisville KY, USA |
| 1968 | Galerie Springer, Berlin, Germany Galerie Neuendorf, Hamburg, Germany |
| 1967 |
Bodley Gallery, New York NY, USA Galerie Iolas, Paris, France |
| 1966 | Copley - Entertainment for Men, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands Galerie Iolas, Paris, France Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1965 | Allan Frumkin Gallery, Chicago IL, USA Southwestern College, Chula Vista CA, USA Louisiana Gallery, Houston, Texas TX, USA |
| 1964 | CPLY, David Stuart Gallery, Los Angeles CA, USA |
| 1963 | CPLY, Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York NY, USA Les Suffragettes Erotiques de Bill Copley, Galerie Iris Clert, Paris, France Paintings, Hanover Gallery, London, England |
| 1962 |
The Flags (Les Etats-Unis du Monde), Galerie Iris Clert, Paris, France Gallerie Arturo Schwarz, Milan, Italy |
| 1961 | Paintings, ICA The Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, England Recent Paintings by CPLY, Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York NY, USA Galerie Iris Clert, Paris, France |
| 1960 | Galleria Cavallino, Venice, Italy Galleria d'Arte del Naviglio, Milan, Italy Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1959 | Galerie Furstenberg, Paris, France |
| 1958 | Paintings by William Copley, Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1956 | Copley: Peintures Recentes, Galerie du Dragon, Paris, France Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1954 | Galleria Montenapoleone, Milan, Italy |
| 1953 | Nina Dausset, Paris, France |
| 1951 | CPLY: Paintings by William N. Copley, Royer's Book Shop, Los Angeles CA, USA |
Group Exhibitions
| 2023 |
Paraventi: Folding Screens from the 17th to 21st Centuries, Fondazione Prada, Milan, Italy |
| 2021 |
Editions, Galerie Friese, Berlin, Germany |
| 2019 |
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, Galerie Klaus Gerrit Friese, Berlin, Germany Fringe: William N. Copley, Saskia Pintelon & Jenny Watson, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium Recline: Portraiture & Henri Matisse Prints, McClain Gallery, Houston TX, USA |
| 2018 |
Paris pese a todo: Artistas extranieros, 1944-1968 (Lost, Loose and Loved: Foreign Artists in Paris, 1944 – 1968), Museo Nacional Centro de Arta Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain Remember to React: 60 Years of Collecting, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale FL, USA Played, Galerie Ebensperger, Salzburg, Austria 40+10+1, Jahn und Jahn, Munich, Germany Nudes, Sadie Coles HQ, Davies Street, London, England Atlas, Fondazione Prada, Milan, Italy Mr. Unatural; And Other Works from the Allan Frumkin Gallery (1952 – 1987), VENUS, New York NY, USA Trance Aïshti Foundation, Jal Ed Dib, Lebanon Kinder Gentler Nation, Karma, New York NY, USA |
| 2017 |
America! America! Now Real is Real?, Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, Germany Animal Farm, The Brant Foundation, Greenwich, CT, USA |
| 2016 |
Grün II, Galerie Klaus Gerrit Friese, Berlin, Germany PAINTING 2.0: Expression in the Information Age, Museum Brandhorst, Munich, Germany Impasse Ronsin, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York NY, USA Drawing Room, David Nolan Gallery, New York NY, USA William Copley, Elma Talbot, Ina van Zyl, Galerie Onrust, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 2015 | H.D. Buttercup’s Apartment, H.D. Buttercup, Los Angeles CA, USA, curated by Michael Fuchs Galerie The Shadow is Taken, Algus Greenspon, New York NY, USA Viewer Discretion: Children of Bataille, Stux & Haller, New York NY, USA In Part, Fondazione Prada, Milan, Italy, curated by Nick Cullinan The Violet Crab, DRAF, London, England |
| 2014 |
Live and Let Die, Stuart Shave Modern Art, London, England Alexander the Great: The Iolas Gallery 1955 – 1987, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY, USA |
| 2013 | Re-view, Hauser and Wirth, London, England Gang Bust: William Copley & Big Fat Black Cock Inc., Venus Over Manhattan, New York NY, USA Feminine / Masculine, Michael Fuchs Galerie, Berlin, Germany |
| 2012 | Interiors, Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York NY, USA |
|
2011 |
After Shelly Duval ’72 (Frogs on the High Line), Maccarone, New York NY, USA William N. Copley and Andreas Slominski – X-Rated, me Collectors Room, Berlin, Germany |
| 2009 | And Other Essays, Bard College, Annandale-on Hudson, New York NY, USA Exile on Mail St., Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, Netherlands Jr and Son’s, Zach Feuer Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 2008 | Diana und Aktaion: der verbotene Blick auf die Nacktheit, museum kunst palest, Dusseldorf, Germany Karl Bohrmann- William N. Copley, Galerie Klaus Gerrit Freise, Stuttgart, Germany Carte Blanche III: “Gedichte der Fakten”: Arbeiten aus der Sammlung Arend und Brigitte Oetker, GfZK-Galerie fur Zeitgenossische Kunst, Lepzig, Germany Liebe, Love, Paare, Gustav-Lubcke-Museum, Hamm, Germany Museum im Kulterspeicher, Wurzburg: Ulmer Museum, Ulm, Germany Mirror, Mirror, Edward Thorpe Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 2007 | Deutsche und Amerikanische Malerei: Aus der Sammlung Freider Burda, Museum Freider Burda, Baden-Baden, Germany Rockers Island: Olbricht Collection, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany Sixties! Art, Fashion, Design, Film and Photography, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands AFFINITIES, Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany |
| 2006 | Die anderen Bilder, Museum der Stadt, Ratingen, Germany Ele-Mental - David Nolan Gallery, New York City NY, USA Six Feet Under: Autopsie unseres Umgangs mit Toten, Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland Models and Prototypes, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis MO, USA L’Amateur d’estampes, Musee des Beaux-Arts, Tourcoing, France Collage Effect, 1301PE, Los Angeles CA, USA Group Show, Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York UK, USA |
| 2005 | Internationale Zeichner - Galerie Biedermann, Munich, Germany Bilderwechsel III – Amerikanische Malerei, Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, Germany |
| 2004 | FUNNY CUTS - Cartoons und Comics in der zeitgenössische Kunst, Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany Eröffnungsausstellung Sammlung Frieder Burda, Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, Germany Sammlung Frieder Burda, Eröffnungsausstellung, Staatliche Kunsthalle BadenBaden, Baden-Baden, Germany Christmas Art Gifts, Artiscope, Brussels, Belgium Baume, Galerie Biedermann, Munich, Germany |
| 2003 |
Imagine, Selections from the permanent collection, MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami FL, USA |
| 2001 | Kunst Sammeln I: Werke zeitgenossischer Kunst aus den Sammlungen von Cramm, Falckenburg, Kalkmann, Kunstverein Bad Salzdetfurth e.V., Bodenburg Museum unserer Wunsche, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany |
| 2000 | Prints, Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York NY, USA Im Gegenuber: Landschaften, Stilleben, Portraits, Galerie von Braunbehrens, Munich, Germany |
| 1998 |
Summer Group Show, Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York NY, USA Imagined World, David Nolan Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1997 | Magie der Zahl in der Kunst des 20, Jahrhunderts, Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany Spiral Village, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, Netherlands |
| 1996 | Hommage a Copley, Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany Think, Galerie Brigitte Ihsen, Cologne, Germany Disegni americani degli anni ottanta: 15 artisti, Galleria Milano, Milan, Italy |
| 1995 |
Bunnies - A Group Show, Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1994 |
Old Glory: The American Flag in Contemporary Art, Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland OH, USA |
| 1989 | Bilderstreit: Widerspruch, Einheit und Fragment in der Kunst seit 1960, Museum Ludwig in den Rheinhallen der Kolner Messe, Cologne, Germany |
| 1988 | Gran Pavese, The Flag Project, MuHKA Museum voor Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium Roger Brown, William Copley, Duncan Hannah, Gloria Luria Gallery, Miami FL, USA |
| 1987 | The Amused Eye: A National Sampling of Humor in Art, The Evanston Art Center, Evanston IL, USA |
| 1986 | Column, Galerie Jule Kewenig, Frenchen-Bachem, Germany Europa/Amerika: die Geschichte einer kunstlerischen Faszination seit 1940, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany |
| 1985 | Cinquante ans de dessins americains, 1930-1980, Ecole nationale superieure des beaux-arts, Paris, France Paravents, Schloss Lorsfeld, Kerpen, Germany |
| 1984 | Auto and Culture, MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles CA, USA; DIA Detroit Art Institute of Arts, Detroit MI, USA |
| 1983 | Looking at Women, Artemesia Gallery, Chicago IL, USA Festival of the Arts, Muhlenberg College, Allentown PA, USA Contemporary Paintings from the Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina NC, USA The Last Laugh, Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center, Portsmouth OH, USA |
| 1982 | documenta 7, Kassel, Germany The Erotic Impulse, Roger Litz Gallery, New York NY, USA |
| 1981 | Westkunst, Museen der Staadt Koln, Cologne, Germany |
| 1980 | "American Painting of the Sixties and Seventies: The Real, Ideal and the Fantastic", Whitney Museum of American Art, New York NY, USA "The Figurative Tradition and The Whitney Museum of Art", The Whitney Museum of Art, New York NY, USA |
| 1978 | "Aspekte der 60er Jahre: aus der Sammlung Reinhard Onnasch", Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany American Nude, Harold Reed Gallery, New York NY, USA Box Museum, Cooper Hewitt Museum, New York NY, USA |
| 1977 | Artist’s Renderings of Paintings, Pinoteca di Brera, Milan, Musee du Louvre, Paris, France The Dada/Surrealist Heritage, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown MA, USA Art Outside the Mainstream/Bad Painting, The New Museum, New York NY, USA |
| 1976 | The William Seitz Memorial Exhibition, Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton NJ, USA |
| 1975 | Three Generations of the American Nude, New York Cultural Center, New York NY, USA |
| 1972 | documenta 5, Kassel, Germany |
| 1971 | Erotic Art, The Art Center of the New School for Social Research, The New Museum, New York NY, USA |
| 1970 | Hot Show, Cordier & Ekstrom Gallery, New York NY, USA Copley, Brauner and Magritte, Louisiana Gallery, Houston TX, USA Box Top Art, Illinois State University, Bloomington IL, USA |
| 1967 | Around the Automobile, MoMA Museum of Modern Art, New York NY, USA Mixed Masters, University of St. Thomas, Houston TX, USA |
| 1966 | Hommage a Caissa: Exhibition for the Chess Foundation of the Duchamp Fund, Cordier & Ekstrom Gallery, New York NY, USA Surrealist Exhibition, University of California, Santa Barbara, Italy Le Portrait, Galerie Claude Bernard, Paris, France 25 Years of Art in San Diego, La Jolla Museum of Art, La Jolla CA, USA |
| 1965 | Pop Art, Noveau Realisme, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium Surrealist Exhibition, Byron Gallery, New York NY, USA Visiting Artists at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles CA, USA Group Show, Dwan Gallery, Los Angeles CA, USA Whence Pop, Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, England |
| 1964 | Selections from the L.M. Asher Collection, University Art Gallery, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM, USA New Directions in American Painting, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham MA, USA Nieuwe realisten, Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, Netherlands The Maremont Collection, Washington Gallery of Modern Art, Washington DC, USA Le Surrealisme: Sources, Histoire, Affinities, Galerie Charpentier, Paris, France |
| 1963 | Pop Art USA, Oakland Museum of Art, Oakland CA, USA XIX Salon de Mai, Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France 18 Salon de Realities Nouvelles, Musee Municipal d’Art Modern, Paris, France Paris Lettriste, Galerie Schmidt, Paris, France |
| 1962 | Collage out of California, Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena CA, USA Antagonismes 2: L’objet, Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Palais du Louvre, Pavillion de Marsan, Paris, France Surrealismus: Phantastiche Malerei der Gegenwart, Kunstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria XVIII Salon de Mai, Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France |
| 1961 | XVII Salon de Mai, Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France Bewogen beweging-Rorelse i Konsten, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden |
| 1959 | XVI Salon de Mai, Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France Exposition Internationale du Surrealisme, Galerie Daniel Cordier, Paris, France Arte Fantastica, Museo de Castillo di San Giusto, Trieste, Italy The Maremont Collection at the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology at Crown Hall, Chicago IL, USA |
| 1957 | Verzameling Urvater, Rijksmuseum Kroller-Muller, Otterlo: The Museum and Art Gallery, Leiscester; City of York Gallery; The Tate Gallery, London |
| 1956 | XV Salon de Mai, Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France Exposition Internationale de l’art actuel, Nagaoka Museum, Nagaoka, Japan |
| 1954 | Americans in Paris, Galerie Arthur Craven, Paris, France |
Public Collections
|
Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland |