William was born in Chicago in 1952. His father was president at Marhoefer Meat Packing Company in Chicago. When William was a kid his dad took him to the stockyards and the slaughterhouses, through Chicago’s underbelly to Maxwell Street with it’s array of colorful vendors, Riverview Amusement Park with it’s sideshows and raunch and White Sox Park, all to sell hot dogs.

William was greatly influenced by these experiences, incorporating them into his work as he grew up. His mother was also very important in developing his creativity, she encouraged him from a young age to be an artist. She had a wonderful sense of fashion and design.

William attended the Junior School at The Art Institute of Chicago. He continued art education through college and graduated with an M.F.A. in 1979 from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

In the 1960s, while in high school, William began working on Underground Comics. His comics had national Hippie Headshop distribution. William’s sculptures reflect this influence.

He taught painting, mixed media and illustration in the late 1970s at Columbia College, Chicago, Illinois.

As a mixed media sculptor, William accepts commissions, sells his work and has many collectors.

William most recently exhibited at LeMieux Galleries, New Orleans, Louisiana - “And Now for Something New, Vol. 4.” He has exhibited regularly since the 1970s. Some of his past exhibits include:

• Hyde Park Art Center, "Black Jack Flashback", 1974

• The Art Institute of Chicago, "Chicago and Vicinity completions", 1974 - 1979

• Traveling, "Chicago Collects Chicago', 1978

• The Art Institute of Chicago, "Chicago and Prize Winners revisited", 1979

During this time, William’s concentration was on Art Restoration, he continued to show in many group exhibits.

• S.O.F.A., Ann Nathan Gallery, 2006.

• Ongoing, Ann Nathan Gallery, 2006 – 2008.

• Architrouve Gallery, “Genuine Object”, solo exhibit, 2008.

• Architrouve Gallery, “Mixed Company”, solo exhibit, 2009.

• The South Shore Center for the Arts, “But What Am I”, solo exhibit, 2011.

• American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog, “Specialty Breed Exhibit, The Art of the French Bulldog”. His sculpture, “Slugger” is in the permanent collection. 2012.

• American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog, “A Regal Pedigree; A Special Exhibition of the Pug in Art”, 2013.

• Rotofugi Gallery Chicago, “Yooka Ladies”, 2015.

• The South Shore Center for the Arts, “78 Annual Salon Show”, 2021.

William has been published in “The Art of the French Bulldog” by Gary Bachman, 2019.

William is a singer/songwriter and guitar player. He is also a certified Therapeutic Tai Chi instructor.

William and Michelle are active artists and art restorers. In 1980 they founded Broken Art Restoration Inc., a studio specializing in the restoration of sculptural objects, pottery and porcelain and have a nationwide reputation of excellence.

William Marhoefer with “Slugger”
at the AKC Museum of the Dog