Western artist William Acheff was drawn to artistic pursuits from an early age, although his formal training only began when he studied with Italian artist Roberto Lupetti. After a European-style apprenticeship with Lupetti, Acheff moved to Taos, New Mexico, in 1973, where he found himself at home among a thriving Native American culture that resonated with his Alaskan Athabascan heritage.

The artist’s highly detailed paintings of Native American artifacts often include images of vintage photographs and paintings depicted in the trompe l’oeil style favored by the Dutch masters of the 17th century.

In both 1989 and 2004, Acheff received the Prix de West Purchase Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City. In 1998, the Autry Museum of the American West acknowledged Acheff with the Master of the American West Award; he was honored again by the Autry with the 2019 John J. Geraghty Masters of the American West Award in recognition of his contributions to the Museum’s permanent collection. Acheff’s work is held in many prestigious public and private collections.