Bill Thompson studied painting and sculpture at Carnegie-Mellon University and did a private study with art director Sister Vincent de Paul at Emmanuel College. He has served four terms of studio residency at Loft Nota Bene in Cadaques, Spain. Thompson has exhibited his work across the United States and in Korea, Japan, and Germany. Locally his work has been exhibited in the Barbara Krakow Gallery, the Alpha Gallery, the Nielsen Gallery, and the Center Street Studio, all of Boston. Thompson's work is in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA, Harvard University's Fogg Art Museum, Brandeis University's Rose Art Museum, and the New York Public Library, as well as many corporate collections.