William Adair is recognized for his work as a maker, conservator and historian of picture frames. In the early 1970s, he began working at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, where he became a museum specialist focusing on gilding, framing, and the connections that these crafts bridge between fine art and architecture. He founded Gold Leaf Studios in 1982 in Washington, DC, where he built his renowned career as a framer and gilder. His 1981 exhibition and publication, ‘The Frame in America, 1860-1960,’ in collaboration with the American Institute of Architects, was the first survey of the history of American picture frames. He founded the Society of Gilders in 1986. He lectures, gives workshops, and organizes exhibitions of picture frames throughout the world.

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Adair exhibits his artwork throughout America and Europe, where it has been acquired by numerous collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In 1991, he received the Rome Prize in design from the American Academy in Rome. A retrospective exhibition of The Golden Doors to Infinity was hosted at the Italian Embassy in Washington, DC, in 2025, sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington.

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He is represented by Govinda Gallery in Washington, DC.

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