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William Clothier Watts Biography


William Watts grew up in Philadelphia where he began studying art when he was very young.  In addition to attending formal art classes in Philadelphia, he conducted research on the chemical analysis of color pigments in his father’s factory and learned human anatomy while serving as a surgeon’s assistant at a medical center.  After traveling extensively for several years throughout Asia, Africa, and much of Europe, he settled in Carmel in 1915 and became an active member of the Monterey Peninsula art community.  He continued to paint and exhibit watercolors until the late 1950’s.  Watts painted scenes of the countries he visited, often including people at work or involved in activities that were part of their everyday lives.