Thomas Hill

1829-1908

American Artist

Hill was born in England and moved to Massachusetts with his family in 1844. In 1853, he studied portraiture and still life painting at The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He traveled to Paris in 1866 and 1867 to continue his still life painting studies, but his instructors encouraged him to develop his exceptional talent for landscape painting. Returning to the United States in 1867, Hill became a leading member of the Hudson River School. He was an avid painter of mountain landscapes, from the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains, to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. His landscapes reflect a deep understanding of nature through his precise, accurate, and rapidly executed compositions. In 1870, Hill settled in California, spending the winters in San Francisco and the summers in Yosemite Valley. Hill is often referred to as the "Artist of Yosemite". Hill later moved his studio from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park.