February 15, 2025
11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Please join us in remembrance of Willie James Stokes, Jr., an artist whose connection to the Workshop goes back to its very founding. Willie joined us in 1977 as our first Apprentice and remained ever-present throughout our 47-year history as a permanent Artist-in-Residence. He passed away in late 2024 at the age of 69.
We’ll gather with the Stokes family and FWM staff members past and present to share memories in honor of our departed friend.
Light refreshments included.
February 15, 2025
11:00 am to 1:00 pm
The Fabric Workshop and Museum
1214 Arch Street, Philadelphia 19107
Sixth Floor Print Studio
Free | Space is limited
RSVP requiredWill Stokes Jr., prolific painter and longtime artist-in-residence at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, has died at 69
Gary Miles, The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 17, 2025
Philadelphia-born Will Stokes, Jr., a longtime collaborator and former Studio artist with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, is known for his distinct “outsider” style and colorful, rich compositions. His work draws heavily from popular culture and other iconic visual histories. The first apprentice of The Fabric Workshop from its founding in 1977, Stokes studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts before attending the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME. In addition to participating in residencies at the Mohammed Kahlil Studio, New York, NY, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA, and Printmaking Workshop, New York, NY, Stokes has shown in major exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia, Haynes Art Center Glass Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC, and in Philadelphia at Janet Fleisher Gallery, Painted Bride Art Center, as well as The Fabric Workshop and Museum. His work has been collected by many illustrious Philadelphians over the last four decades.
Learn more about the artist.