Will Foster studied with Frank Duveneck in Cincinnati Academy, at William Merritt Chase's New York School of Art in New York; he was enrolled in the etching class at the Academy school from 1918 into 1920. He began his career as an illustrator, with his work being published in such magazines as The Saturday Evening Post, Cosmopolitan, Harper's, Schribner's, and Red Book. During World War I, Foster was in Paris, with the American Ambulance Service; he also worked with army camouflage units.
In his career as a painter Foster's specialties were still lifes and portraits; he was especially noted for the elegance of his portraits of women. He received the Academy's Clarke Prize in 1926, and prizes from the Salmagundi Club in 1921 and 1937. He moved to Los Angeles in 1932.
