William Pardue

William Pardue discovered he could draw at the age of nine. Growing up during the last gasp of the great illustrators, the period of Norman Rockwell and the last years of activity for Maxfield Parrish, he vowed that illustration would be his profession.After leaving the Air Force, he intended to go to New York to attend the Art Students League, but instead joined a local amateur theatre group in his home town and became smitten with theatre. He did go to New York, but to become a professional actor and director. He occasionally designed sets to keep his hand in the visual arts.After a long career in the theatre he returned to his original love – painting. He has exhibited widely on Long Island and in NYC, winning a number of awards. His work is in collections around the world.Currently, he is doing murals. One was recently installed in the Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Westchester, and he is designing another for the Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan.