Willem Wissing, also known as William Wissing (1656[1] - 10 September 1687), was a Dutch portrait artist.
He was born in either Amsterdam or The Hague, and studied at The Hague under Willem Doudijns (1630–97) and Arnoldus van Ravestyn (1615–90). In 1676, he moved to England, where he studied with and assisted Peter Lely. After Lely's death in 1680, Wissing emerged as his most important pupil. Godfrey Kneller was the only contemporary portrait artist in England to rival Wissing. Wissing’s royal sitters include Charles II of England, Queen Catharine of Braganza, Prince George of Denmark and James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.
In 1685, James II of England sent Wissing to the Netherlands to paint portraits of his Dutch son-in-law and daughter, the future William III of England and the future Mary II of England. The portraits are on display in the Great Hall of the Wren building at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Wissing died in 1687 at the peak of his fame as a portrait painter, at Burghley House, the home of Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl of Essex outside of London (probably Watford). Some suspected he was poisoned out of jealousy of his success. According to Houbraken his epitaph was Immodicis brevis est aetas, meaning Friendly artists don't live long.[2] He was buried in St Martin's Church, Stamford, Lincolnshire.