Painter and printmaker Bill Brauer was born in Queens, New York, in 1939. He attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City and studied independently with Federic Castellon, and began work as a freelance graphic artist. He learned printmaking in the early 1960s nad it became his fine art medium of choice, holding his first major exhibition with the Association of American Artists (AAA) in their "New Talent in Printmaking" show in 1974 to much acclaim. This led to a featured exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum and the purchase of an impression of each exhibition piece for their permanent collection. 

Among his commissioned works were a variety of album covers, books of prose and poetry, and periodicals, including Golf Digest and Denise McCluggage's The Centered Skier (1977).

In 1976 he received a grant from the Vermont Arts Council, which allowed for him to pursue painting more seriously. He focused entirely on the medium and by the 1980s had developed critical success, participating in shows throughtout the U.S. A major retrospective of his work spanning fifty years was held at the Bundy Modern in Vermont in 2016. 

He remained active until his death on February 28, 2019, in Warren, Vermont. A complete list of selected exhibitions can be found on the artist's estate website.