POMONA, Calif. – If you knew you were dying, what would you do in your final days? For one prolific Southern California artist, his final wish was for one last show featuring his life’s work.
Every wall in the Progress Gallery in the basement of the old Progress-Bulletin building in Pomona is now covered in vibrant, mostly abstract canvases.
“A lot of my older work tends to be more minimalist,” explained Father Bill Moore in a video playing on loop a large TV in the gallery. Moore, a painter and priest, is now in hospice care with terminal prostate cancer. His last outing was the opening of the show last month featuring his work from the early 70s to just this year.
“I found great excitement within the last year… in working on paintings that I think have more energy. I’m using bolder colors, a little more interesting textures,” Moore contended.
Over the course of his career, all of the money he’s earned from his art has been donated and his sales have been substantial.
“Over the last 20 years he’s made in excess of $6 million,” shared George Cuttress, one of Moore’s closest friends and the man in charge of the exhibition. Cuttress is a gallerist who has worked with thousands of artists, but none quite like the painting priest. Cuttress contends Father Bill’s art has a spiritual quality and as people view it, he encourages them to touch it.
“I’ve watched them just sit there and run their hands over the entire painting and you can just see the wonderment in the expression of their face,” Cuttress said.
Cuttress believes his friend who has been fighting prostate cancer for years, fought to live to see this show. “He’s very much accepted the fact that it’s his time and he feels that God is calling him home and I believe that that’s true I believe that he is heading to a better place,” Cuttress stated.
His legacy will live on outside his own work. Father Bill started a foundation to help upcoming artists: the Father Bill Moore Foundation for the Arts based in Pomona.
“My Last Art Beats: still touching and feeding souls” is taking place at the Progress Gallery through the end of the month. Due to Gov. Newsom’s orders on galleries, the Progress Gallery hours have been updated and guests must make an appointment online.