William Gilkerson is a professional marine artist, author and historian whose ongoing work is internationally recognized. Gilkerson's drawings, watercolours, and oils have been featured in a dozen major institutional exhibitions; they have been anthologized and reproduced in scores of books, magazines, and on film. As of this moment, some 50 prints and lithographs of his pictures have been produced.

Gilkerson's original works have been commissioned or purchased by some 40 public and private institutions, among them:
Collection Archéologie Navale Francaise, Jean Boudriot
Frammuseet, Oslo
Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Hart Collection
Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston
Nantucket Whaling Museum
National Geographic Society
National Library Of Scotland
National Library Of Congress
National Maritime Museum, San Francisco
Kendall Whaling Museum
New Bedford Whaling Museum
Peabody Essex Museum Of Salem
Sea Education Association, Woods Hole
South Street Seaport Museum, New York
U.S. Naval Academy Museum
USS Constitution Museum
U.S. Naval War College, Newport
Ventura County Maritime Museum
Whaling Museum Of The Pacific, Honolulu

Underlying Gilkerson's art and writing is a grounding in genuine history that saturates both. His quest for visual and factual authenticity has led to substantive historical contributions of his own. For instance, his two-volume treatise on the development of ship's weapons, Boarders Away I & II have proven the standard texts in their field as has Jean Boudriot's book on John Paul Jones's lost flagship BONNEHOMME RICHARD, inspired and illustrated by Gilkerson, in collaboration.