Trinity Remembers Bill Bristow

William Arthur ("Bill") Bristow, artist and Trinity University professor emeritus of art, died on Dec. 1, 2022, from an extended illness. He was 85. Throughout his life, Bristow left his lasting mark on the artistic world and the thousands of lives he influenced as an artist, instructor, and mentor. 

In 1960, Bristow joined Trinity’s Department of Art as an assistant professor to teach drawing, design, and painting. He swiftly rose through the ranks, assuming the role of department chair by 1965 and receiving full professorship in 1979. In his role as chair of Trinity’s Academic Council, Bristow helped to shape the University’s liberal arts curriculum. After nearly 40 years of service to the University, he retired from Trinity in 1998.

“During my 20 years at Trinity, I have become aware that this university was—or should be, or would be—an extraordinary place,” Bristow said in a 1980 Trinity brochure. “Because I was given the opportunity, from the start, to teach how and what I knew best; because I was given encouragement and time for creative work as an artist; and because Trinity trusted me, I chose to invest my energies here.”

Bristow’s greatest professional joy came in awakening the artistic abilities of his students through teaching and mentorship. In 1977, he resigned from the position of department chair to allow himself more time toward these pursuits. “I have always seen my students as colleagues,” he said in the Fall 1989 Trinity magazine. “I have something to give them, but they have something to give me. Our paths cross so that we might learn together.” 

Art professor Bill Bristow offers an encouraging word to Trinity art students in 1987. Photo credit: Trinity University Special Collections and Archives.

Bristow was awarded the Piper Professor for Teaching Excellence by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation in 1983 and the Dr. and Mrs. Z.T. Scott Fellowship for teaching and academic excellence in 1989, the most prestigious faculty award the University bestows. Bristow took great joy in seeing the continued success of his students and served as their mentor and friend long after graduation. For him, teaching was a lifelong commitment, and he continued to share his artistic knowledge and skills with all, even up until the week he died.  

“Bill Bristow was my mentor at Trinity,” says Ansen Seale ’83, fellow San Antonio Artist of the Year winner. “Thousands of students looked up to him and learned from his insights, both artistic and philosophical. His gentle and academically-based critique of his students’ work guided many of us to a lifelong pursuit of the arts.” 

Bristow continued to create art of his own throughout his years at Trinity. He designed and executed the sculpture “Migration Fountain” in downtown San Antonio in the U.S. Pavilion of the HemisFair ’68, a celebration to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of San Antonio. Throughout Bristow’s illustrious career, his work was featured in 16 major exhibits from Texas to New York. His paintings and drawings have been exhibited in the institutional collections of the Houston, Dallas, and Longview Museums of Fine Art, the Witte Museum, and the Universities of Texas and Florida as well as the private collections of former-First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, Texas Governor John B. Connally, and many others. 

Bill Bristow's sculpture "Migration" was installed at a fountain in the U.S. Pavilion at HemisFair '68. Photo credit: 118-0005-05, General Photograph Collection, UTSA Special Collections.

Bristow was awarded the prestigious Julian Onderdonk Memorial Purchase Prize in 1961 and was named Artist of the Year by the San Antonio Art League and Museum in 1965. He was profiled twice in The Chronicle of Higher Education, one of only two artists to receive such an honor at the time. Throughout the years, Bristow published regularly in arts and academic journals, focusing on the present and future of the arts and arts education. He is an honorary lifetime member of the Coppini Academy of Fine Art and the San Antonio Watercolor Group.

Bristow is predeceased by his beloved wife of 53 years, Wilanna Blanton Bristow, as well as a sister, Catherine, and a brother-in-law, James C. Reilly Jr. He is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Ann Bristow Krouse ’85, and her husband, Pierce Krouse ’85; a grandchild, Andy M. Krouse, and spouse, Jordan Mark; a nephew, James C. “Clancy” Reilly III, and wife, Donna; a nephew, Earle Allen “Bubba” Reilly, and wife, Vickie; a great-niece, Shelby, and husband, Eric Olsen; a great-niece, Kristin Reilly; a great-niece, Brandi, and her husband, Jasen Wallace; a great-niece, Shanna Reilly; a great-niece, Enora Wallace; and devoted companion and friend Loretta Sawyer as well as her son Richard Alba.

Bristow’s funeral service will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 11 a.m. at St. David’s Episcopal Church, 1300 Wiltshire. To help celebrate Bristow’s bright life, everyone is encouraged to wear colorful attire on this day, whether or not you can attend. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Coppini Academy of Fine Art in memory of Bill Bristow.

Read Bristow’s obituary in full online. An archive of his work can also be found online.