William Hoare of Bath was an English portraitist, painter and printmaker. From c. 1740 to 1759, he was the leading oil portraitist at Bath, Somerset, until the arrival in the town of Thomas Gainsborough. Noted for his pastels, he was a foundation member of the Royal Academy.

Born near Eye, Suffolk, Hoare received a gentleman’s education in Faringdon. He showed an aptitude for drawing and was sent to London to study under Giuseppe Grisoni, who had left Florence for London in 1715. When Grisoni returned to Italy in 1728, Hoare went with him, travelling to Rome and continuing his studies under the direction of Francesco Imperiali. He remained in Rome for nine years, returning to London in 1737/8.

William Hoare was the first fashionable portraitist to settle in Bath, and he was the leading portraitist there until the arrival of Thomas Gainsborough in 1759. He remained the favourite of his powerful patron the Duke of Newcastle, his family, followers and political associates. Included amongst his other important patrons were the Earls of Pembroke and Chesterfield, and the Duke of Beaufort. With Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds, he was a founding member of the Royal Academy.