Will Frates was born in Hayward, California in 1896. He studied painting with William Otto Emerson. He was an active Bay Area artists from the 1920's onward. He is noted for both his oils, watercolors, and pastels.

His subjects were mostly Bay Area and Mother Lode landscapes, but he painted scenes of other parts of America. He was active in numerous art associations and exhibited throughout the region. His paintings hang in the Hayward Public Library, the State Museum Resource Center, and the Salinas City Hall. Will Frates died at the age of 73 in Myrtle Creek, Oregon while on a painting excursion to the Northwest. Will maintained a Hayward gallery with friend and fellow artist, Elmer Stanhope. Source: Askart