Gene Derwood, 1909-1954, was an American poet and painter. She was born in Illinois, but she moved to New York when she was a teenager to pursue her passion for art and poetry. There she met the poet and anthologist Oscar Williams, 1900-1964, whom she later married. Their son, Strephon Kaplan-Williams, was born on April 2, 1934. Derwood's poetry, when compared to her husband's, was considered more lyrical and traditional. The couple lived in a penthouse in an office building on Water Street in New York, where they often received artists and poets such as Dylan Thomas. Derwood frequently depicted these artistic friends in her portraits, especially Thomas, whom she painted twenty times. Her death in 1954 of stomach cancer was devastating to Williams, and he continued to memorialize her until his death in 1964. The remainder of their estate was transferred to the New York Community Trust to establish the Oscar Williams and Gene Derwood Fund to assist artists and poets in need.