William Alexander

William Alexander (born Wilhelm Alexander; 2 April 1915 – 24 January 1997) was a German painter, art instructor, and television host. He was the creator and host of The Magic of Oil Painting (1974–1982) television series that ran on PBS in the United States. He co-wrote The Art of Bill Alexander and … (1987–1995), a series of books on wet-on-wet oil painting, based on different PBS series of the same form. He also taught the television painter Bob Ross his signature "quick" wet-on-wet technique.

Life Wilhelm Alexander was born in Berlin to a family of East Prussian origin. His family had fled to Berlin during World War I, and returned to their home in Rautenberg (now Uzlovoye and part of Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast) after the war.

Apprenticed as a carriage maker, Alexander was drafted into the Wehrmacht during World War II. Captured by Allied troops, he painted portraits of Allied officers' wives and he soon made his way to the United States.

After World War II, Alexander was a refugee and became a professional painter. He pioneered the modern "quick" version of the 15th century wet-on-wet technique, and moved to North America.

Later, known as Bill Alexander, he began hosting television shows focused on painting education and his methods.

Relations with Bob Ross TV host and prolific painter Bob Ross studied under Alexander, from whom he learned his wet-on-wet technique, a method of painting rapidly using progressively thinner layers of oil paint. Ross also dedicated the first episode of the second season to Alexander, explaining that "I feel as though he gave me a precious gift, and I'd like to share that gift with you [the viewer]".

As Ross's popularity grew, his relationship with Alexander became increasingly strained. In a 1991 interview with The New York Times, Alexander said of Ross: "He betrayed me. I invented 'wet on wet'. I trained him, and he is copying me – what bothers me is not just that he betrayed me, but that he thinks he can do it better."

Art historians have pointed out that the "wet-on-wet" (or alla prima) technique actually originated in Flanders during the 15th century, and was used by Frans Hals, Diego Velázquez, Caravaggio, Paul Cézanne, John Singer Sargent, and Claude Monet, among many others. However, Alexander invented the step of priming the canvas with a coat of thin liquid white paint (which Alexander branded as "Magic White") and designed the style of palette knife employed, which is larger, firmer, and has one straight edge. Both inventions are fundamental for his wet-on-wet technique.