Father Bill Moore is a rare example of an ordained Catholic priest who was also a serious abstract painter. He is a contemporary Fra Angelico whose church support permitted him to flourish as an artist. There was no apparent conflict between his art, his vocation as a priest and his spirituality. Moore’s work should be seen in the context of Abstract Expressionism. He is related to artists like Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974) and Mark Rothko (1903-1970) who also used the basic components of painting, color shape scale texture etc. to create non-naturalistic images to communicate other-worldly beliefs.
Born in Glendale, California, Moore received a BA in Fine Arts from Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota and then his MA in theology in 1975, the year he was ordained as a Catholic priest. His passionate embrace of art, which he traces to his childhood, preceded his devotion to Catholicism. From 1975 until 1990 he worked as an Educator in Art and Religious Studies at two local high schools. In 1998, in recognition of his dedication to his art, his superiors made him head of the Ministry of the Arts for the West Coast branch of his religious order, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary which allowed him to paint full time.
