Thomas Hill (painter) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Thomas Hill
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Thomas Hill
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| Born | September 11, 1829 |
| Died | June 30, 1908 (aged 78) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts |
| Known for | Painting, Landscape art |
| Movement | Romanticism |
Thomas Hill (born September 11, 1829 – died June 30, 1908) was an American painter from the 1800s. He was famous for his beautiful paintings of nature, especially the amazing landscapes of Yosemite Valley in California and the White Mountains in New Hampshire.
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About Thomas Hill
Thomas Hill was born in Birmingham, England on September 11, 1829. His younger brother, Edward Hill, also became a successful landscape painter. When Thomas was 15, his family moved to the United States. They settled in Taunton, Massachusetts. In 1851, he married Charlotte Elizabeth Hawkes. They had nine children together.
At age 24, Hill started taking evening art classes. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). His teacher was an American painter named Peter Frederick Rothermel. While he was a student, Hill visited the White Mountains in New Hampshire in 1854. He sketched there with artists from the Hudson River School. In 1856, Hill and his family moved to San Francisco, California.
In 1865, Hill took his first trip to the Yosemite Valley. He went with painter Virgil Williams and photographer Carleton Watkins. The next year, Hill traveled to the East Coast and then to Europe. He settled his family on the East Coast for a while. However, he kept taking trips to the West Coast to sketch. He also attended meetings of the San Francisco Art Association. In 1873, he moved his family back to San Francisco.
Thomas Hill made yearly trips to Yosemite and Mount Shasta. He also went back to the White Mountains in the East. Hill owned an art gallery and a store that sold art supplies. For a short time, he was the director of the SFAA School of Design. He even went to Alaska for environmentalist John Muir to paint for him.
Later in his life, he had a studio at Yosemite’s Wawona Hotel. Thomas Hill passed away on June 30, 1908, in Raymond, California. He is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.
Thomas Hill's Art Style
Thomas Hill's paintings were often inspired by his experiences in nature. The Yosemite Valley and the White Mountains of New Hampshire were his main sources of ideas. He painted what he saw and felt when he was in these beautiful places.
Thomas Hill was connected to the Hudson River School of painters. This group of artists loved nature and showed its power and beauty in their paintings. Early members of this school often painted people very small compared to the huge landscapes. This showed how humans fit into the vastness of nature. Thomas Hill used this idea in his own art, like in his painting Yosemite Valley from 1889.
He took early trips to the White Mountains with his friend Benjamin Champney. Hill painted White Mountain scenes throughout his career. An example is his painting Mount Lafayette in Winter. Hill learned a special way of painting called en plein air. This means to "paint outdoors and directly from the landscape." He would make sketches and smaller paintings outside. These outdoor works then helped him create larger, finished paintings in his studio. Hill's landscape paintings show how he combined his careful observations with strong feelings in each artwork.
When Hill moved to California in 1861, he found new things to paint. He chose huge, impressive views, like those in Yosemite. During his lifetime, Hill’s paintings were very popular in California. Some of his best works show these grand subjects. These include Great Canyon of the Sierra, Yosemite, Vernal Falls, and Yosemite Valley.
His 1865 painting, View of the Yosemite Valley, was chosen for a special event. It was the backdrop for the main table at Barack Obama's inaugural luncheon. This honored Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Yosemite Grant in 1864. A painting has been chosen for every inaugural luncheon since 1985.
Hill's most famous painting is about a big historical moment. It shows the "Last Spike" being driven in at Promontory Summit, Utah. This happened on May 10, 1869. It joined the rails of the CPRR and UPRR. This huge painting is 8 by 12 feet. It shows detailed pictures of 71 people involved with the First transcontinental railroad. You can see this painting at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California.
Images for kids
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Thomas Hill's grave marker
More of Thomas Hill's Works
- Thomas Hill's works
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Indians at Campfire, Yosemite Valley (c.1885), Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Texas
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Muir Glacier, Alaska, Anchorage Museum
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See also
- Early California Artists
- White Mountain art
- List of Hudson River School artists
