William Hook's background in art began at home. It was through the influence of his father and grandmother, a professional photographer and architect respectively, that art became second nature to him. In 1970, he received his BFA from the University of New Mexico, then studied at the Universita Italiana Per Straniere in Perugia, Italy. Post graduate studies at the Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles concluded his seven years of formal training.

Hook has painted professionally for more than 25 years. When he is not painting plein air on the California Coast, in the Rocky Mountains, or the desert Southwest, he paints out of his studios in Carmel, California and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards for his work including: Friends of Western Art, Artist of the Year (2013); MO Club, Tucson, AZ - Wieghorst Award Best in Show (2008); Carmel Plein Air Festival - Best Local Artist (2003); National Academy of Design - Acrylic Artist of the Year (1996); "Covering the West" - Best of the Southwest (1996); National Parks "Arts for the Parks" Best Landscape (1993).

Hook's paintings are in many permanent museum, corporate, and private collections worldwide including:

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - Tucson, AZ
The Denver Art Museum - Denver, CO
The Forbes Museum - New York, NY
Pioneer's Museum - Colorado Springs, CO
The University of New Mexico Fine Arts Museum - Albuquerque, NM
AOL/Time Warner - New York, NY
Erivan & Helga Haub Western Art Collection - Wiesbaden, Germany
Texaco World Headquarters - New York, NY
Bank of Ireland - Dublin, Ireland
Chevron Corporation - San Francisco, CA
Denver Convention Center - Denver, CO