Bill W. Dodge

February 21, 1934 – November 18, 2024

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Bill W. Dodge was one of the most beloved and widely collected artists of the Pacific Northwest. Best known for his colorful, narrative depictions of life in Astoria, Oregon, his adopted home, his paintings hang in hundreds of private collections Nationwide. 

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In 2009, the Columbia River Maritime Museum honored Bill’s work with a 50-year retrospective, recognizing his significant contribution to the visual culture of the Columbia River region. He painted daily throughout his life, and his work remains celebrated for its warmth, storytelling, and unmistakable sense of place.

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Over more than half a century, Bill’s original paintings found their way into prominent private and public collections, including those of opera diva Beverly Sills, Broadway Tony Award winner Dorothy Loudon, Academy Award winner Joan Fontaine, and Maureen Reagan, daughter of President Ronald Reagan. In 1988, he was invited by the White House to paint a wooden egg for the annual Easter Egg Roll. His egg was exhibited alongside works by other noted artists in a Smithsonian-organized exhibition and is now part of the First Ladies’ Easter Egg Roll collection. A thank-you letter from Nancy Reagan remained proudly displayed in his studio.

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Bill’s art also reached national audiences through popular television and film. His work appeared on the permanent sets of All My Children for nearly four years, was featured in the film Trench Coat starring Margot Kidder, and appeared in the television series Falcon Crest. More recently, one of his paintings was requested for the set of The Prom, starring Meryl Streep, James Corden, and Nicole Kidman. He also completed commissioned work for international corporations including Nestlé, Libby, McNeil & Libby, and Dole Pineapple.

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An often-shared detail of Bill’s life is that he was born in 1934 at the Charlie Chaplin Movie Studios in Hollywood, where his father worked on Chaplin’s electrical crew—an origin story befitting an artist whose life was rooted in creativity.

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Through his paintings and prints, Bill documented Astoria’s Victorian homes, waterfront, boats on the Columbia River, the Astoria-Megler Bridge, historic landmarks, and everyday moments. His work stands as a lasting visual record of the community he loved and the place he helped define.

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Hand-signed and numbered prints of Bill W. Dodge’s work remain available in limited quantities. All currently available editions represent the final hand-signed works released by the artist.