Landscape painter. Born in Birmingham, England in 1829. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1844, Hill settled with his family in Taunton, MA and worked in Boston as a carriage painter. His art studies were at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts under Peter F. Rothermel. Hill painted in Massachusetts throughout the 1850s and often in the White Mountains of New Hampshire with a group of artists which included Durand, Inness, Champney, Bierstadt, Virgil Williams, and his brother Edward Hill. For health reasons, he sought a milder climate and, with wife and children, made the overland trek to San Francisco in 1861.

After establishing a home and studio, Hill advertised as a portrait painter. The next year he made his first trip to Yosemite accompanied by William Keith and Virgil Williams. In 1866 he exhibited Yosemite scenes at the National Academy and later in that year sailed to Paris where he was a pupil of Paul Meyerheim and exhibited at the Universal Exposition. Returning to the U.S., he stayed in Boston during 1868-70, but in 1871 returned to San Franciso to help organize the San Francisco Art Association. While his wife maintained the family home in Oakland, Hill built a studio in Yosemite in 1883 and for his remaining years the park remained his home except during the winter months when he lived in nearby Raymond (Madera County) or in San Francisco where he maintained a studio in the Flood Building.

When Virgil Williams died in 1886, Hill became interim director of the School of Design until a new director could be found. During the 1870s and 1880s, his work was in demand and brought very high prices, and today his work continues to be highly valued, as he is considered a giant in American art.

Member: San Francisco Art Association; Bohemian Club; Atheneum Art Club (Boston)

Awards: Silver medal, Maryland Institute, 1853; first prize, California Art Union, 1865; bronze medal, NY Palette Club, 1871; bronze medal, Centennial Exposition, 1890; Temple Medal, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1884; Premium Award, Mechanics Institute Fair (SF), 1888 bronze medal, 1894.

Works held: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Oakland Museum; Crocker Museum, Sacramento; Society of California Pioneers; Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley; Stanford Museum; California Historical Society; University of Kansas Museum

(Source: Hughes, Edan Milton, "Artists in California: 1786-1940," San Francisco: Hughes Publishing Company, 1989.)