Bill Travis

Bill Travis is an American photographer known for his cityscapes and the sensual male figure. His discovery of photography came through art history—he earned a Ph.D. in medieval art and taught at the university level for several years—and this background has influenced his creative work. From 1995 to 2002, his photography of medieval sculpture and architecture appeared in print in prestigious journals, ranging from Arte medievale (Italy) to Artibus et Historiae (Poland), Gazette des Beaux-Arts (France), Konsthistorisk Tidskrift (Sweden), and Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte (Germany).

Beginning in 2003, he expanded his subject matter to the male nude and took to experimenting with photographic transfers on gilt boards, using a technique of his invention that let the gold shine through to the surface. The result is something close in spirit to the Byzantine icon. More recently, Travis has developed other techniques that explore the frontier between painting and photography, such as transfers on glass and tinfoil.

Based in Manhattan, Travis has shown his work internationally and has had three museum exhibitions, in Rafaela (Argentina), Berlin, and Castelgandolfo (near Rome). He was interviewed for Italian television on RomaUno in June 2005 and has lectured on his art at Columbia University. His works belong to several public and private collections around the world.