William L. Stevens began his artistic education by studying with Parker Perkins in Rockport. He moved on to the Boston Museum of Fine Art School when he left Rockport in 1934, and then went to Europe just after WWI. Although he was taught by Edmund Tarbell and retained much influence from the artist, Stevens worked in a wide range of brush work and impressionistic styles. Stevens was considered eccentric and was compulsive about painting outdoors everyday. Stevens produced about 5,000 paintings throughout his career. In his early work, Stevens used a heavy impasto in oil but later preferred light washes of acrylic on masonite. He frequently held classes at his studio in Conway, MA as well as Washington D.C. and the Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, MA. In the 1930s Stevens ran a summer art school at Grand Manan. Stevens work was aptly categorized as a Boston School traditionalist. By 1964 he had won more awards than any other living artist of his time. He died five years later in 1969.