The art guys biography of william hill

John William Hill or often J.W. Hill (–) was a British born American artist working in watercolor, gouache, lithography, and engraving. Hill's work focussed primarily upon natural subjects including landscapes, still lifes, and ornithological and zoological subjects. In the s, influenced by John Ruskin and Hill's association with American followers of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, his attention turned from technical illustration toward still life and landscape.

Life

Hill was the son of British aquatint engraver John Hill.

He emigrated with his parents from London to the United States in , initially living in Philadelphia. In the family moved to New York, where Hill apprenticed in aquatint engraving in his father's shop.

In Hill married Catherine Smith - their children included the astronomer George William Hill and the painter John Henry Hill.

Work

In watercolor and aquatint engravings, Hill employed a stipple technique, building up planes of softly gradated colors made of tiny brushstrokes–a process commonly seen in painted miniatures.

The art guys biography of william hill In , by the age of 21, he was elected an associate of the National Academy of Design. He became involved with the Pre-Raphaelite movement in America and came to be considered one of its leading exponents. Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Articles with hCards Commons category link is on Wikidata. Username Please enter your Username.

Applied to a larger scale on canvas the result was a form of objective realism in contrast with more common romanticized works of midth century American painting. In , at the age of 17, Hill began exhibiting watercolors and engravings produced in his father's studio at the Brooklyn Art Association and the National Academy of Design. In , at the age of 21, Hill was elected to associate membership in the National Academy of Design.

In his early 20s Hill began work for the New York State Geological Survey, first creating a series of topographic studies and overhead views of principle American cities and towns.

This work was distinct for its accuracy of arial perspective and recording minute architectural detail.

Biography of william shakespeare An active member of the art community, Hill was one of the founding members of the New York Watercolor Society. Hill's most innovative works blur the categories of landscape and still life by presenting in natural surroundings flowers, fruits, or other subjects normally associated with still life. His many seemingly artless works effect a lively freshness as they also serve his empirical bent. Hill's work focused primarily upon natural subjects including landscapes, still lifes, and ornithological and zoological subjects.

These portraits of urban settlement required frequent travel to observe, sketch, and map before creating finished watercolor studies. The completed watercolors were then recreated as color lithographic art and published by the Smith Brothers, a New York City publisher.

Hill's work with the New York State Geological Survey continued later with his illustration of James Ellsworth De Kay's Zoology of New York State, or; The New-York Fauna.

Part II, Birds published in Like John James Audubon's bird portraits, Hill's were painted with an objective eye, documenting accurate anatomy and colors, and capturing the animal's natural countenance.

While in his early 40s Hill read John Ruskin's Modern Painters, and became fascinated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The Pre-Raphaelite movement's combination of realism with increased emotional content appealed to Hill.

Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Articles with hCards Commons category link is on Wikidata. These portraits of urban settlement required frequent travel to observe, sketch, and map before creating finished watercolor studies. United States France BnF data. In he published a brief biography, John William Hill: An Artist's Memorial, illustrated with etchings of his father's work.

Hill championed Pre-Raphaelite painting methods in the United States, but was less fascinated with their ideals. in , with art critic Clarence Cook, geologist Clarence King, and architect Russell Sturgis, Hill helped to found the Society for the Advancement of Truth in Art. For the remainder of Hill's life he focussed upon landscapes, mostly of the mountainous areas of New England and New York state.

Hill's paintings and engravings are found in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Amon Carter Museum, Fogg Museum, the Hood Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

References

§Falk, Peter Hasting.Who Was Who in American Art: SoundViewPress: ISBN

§Hill, John Henry.John William Hill: An Artist's Memorial.

§Pennington, E.

C. & Kelly, James C.The South on Paper: Line, Color and Light(South Carolina Department of Natural Resource, ) p

§Staley, A. and Newall, C.Pre-Raphaelite Vision: Truth to Nature.Tate: ISBN

§Stebbins, Theodore E., Virginia Anderson and Melissa Renn.The Last Ruskinians: Charles Eliot Norton, Charles Herbert Moore, and Their Circle.HarvardUniversityArtMuseum: ISBN

§Townsend, Joyce H.Pre-Raphaelite Painting Techniques.Tate: ISBN

External links

§Work by John William Hill in the Brooklyn Museum

§Work by John William Hill in the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College

§Work by John William Hill in the Metropolitan Museum of Art