William Utermohlen

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William Charles Utermohlen (December 5, 1933 – March 21, 2007) was an American and British figurative artist known for his late-period self-portraits completed after his diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease. He was diagnosed in 1995, having had progressive memory loss since 1991. After diagnosis, he began a series of self-portraits influenced by both the figurative painter Francis Bacon and cinematographers from the German Expressionism movement. The last of his self-portraits was completed c. 2001, some six years before his death. Born to first-generation German immigrants in South Philadelphia, Utermohlen earned a scholarship at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) in 1951. After completing military service, he spent 1953 studying in Europe where he was inspired by Renaissance and Baroque artists. He moved to London in 1962 and married the art historian Patricia Redmond in 1965. He relocated to Massachusetts in 1972 to teach art at Amherst College before returning to London in 1975. His early work consists of separate six cycles, each of which covers themes and subject matter ranging from mythology to war to nudes. Most of Utermohlen's life was spent in obscurity. His later works began to attract attention at the beginning of the 21st century. His self-portraits especially are seen as important in the understanding of the gradual effects of neurocognitive disorders, and have become some of the most well-recognised works of art about Alzheimer's. His late paintings have been widely displayed since his story became known in popular medicine literature.