William Hawkins was born in 1895 and grew up on a farm in Kentucky, USA, but spent most of his life in Ohio, USA. On his numerous walks through the city, Hawkins found newspapers and magazines, which he habitually salvaged from dumpsters and kept in a suitcase for reference and use in his works. Hawkins combined these with his own recollections and impressions to create a vivid picture gallery of animals, American icons, and historic events. Although he was drawing and selling his work as early as the 1930s, he did not begin painting in the style for which he is best known until the mid to late 1970s. Initially using inexpensive and readily available materials such as enamel paints and a single blunt brush, Hawkins later favoured Masonite. Hawkins died in 1990 as a result of a stroke. The artist once summed up his creative aspirations by remarking: “you have to do something wonderful, so people know who you are.” His works are represented in numerous collections such as the MoMA New York, USA, the American Folk Art Museum, USA, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, USA.