James John Hill RBA (1811 - 27 January 1882), known also by his alias J. J. Hill, was an English landscape and portrait painter, known for his many rustic paintings and portraits of Lady Burdett-Coutts.
Early life and career
James John Hill was born sometime in 1811 in Broad Street, Birmingham to Daniel Hill, plater, and Elizabeth Rowlinson, the daughter of a brass founder.
He was educated at Hazelwood School, a school founded by the educational reformer Rowland Hill (no relation), and he attended Joseph Barber's art academy in Great Charles Street, at the time being taught by his son Vincent.
His fellow pupils included Thomas Creswick, James Tibbits Willmore, Thomas Baker and Peter Hollins.
Having moved to London in 1839, Hill was elected in 1842 a member of the Society of British Artists.
There, he became known as a 'popular contributor' among his fellow artists, showing off his artwork in a number of their exhibitions across the next forty years.
He operated primarily in London, painting many portraits of Lady Burdett-Coutts, a Victorian philanthropist, and her many pets.
He was allegedly a good friend of hers.
His paintings were known to depict mainly girls and boys and their families residing in the countryside, nature being present in almost all of his artwork, and in his later career he moved from painting mainly portraits and people to painting landscapes.
Most of his landscape paintings were inspired by his visit to Ireland in 1854.
He found less success in painting landscapes than he did scenes of wildlife and people.
Later career
In his later life, Hill devoted himself primarily to painting landscapes and had a number of his paintings featured in London newspapers.
He died on 27 January 1882, aged 71, at Sutton House, having contracted bronchitis.
Family
Hill had five children altogether.
His first child - also James John Hill - was born to an unknown mother in 1838, and the other four - Daniel, Emily, Thomas and Alfred - to Harriet Parsons.
His eldest son went on to become a marine engineer and had many children of his own.
Hill's brother, Daniel Rowlinson Hill, was an architect based in Birmingham, and his cousin was Daniel Rowlinson Ratcliff, a lock and safe manufacturer and also an MP. | Source: © Wikipedia
James John Hill RBA (1811-1882), noto anche con il suo alias JJ Hill, è stato un paesaggista e ritrattista Britannico, noto per i suoi numerosi dipinti rustici ed i ritratti di Lady Burdett-Coutts.
James John Hill nacque nel 1811 a Broad Street, Birmingham, da Daniel Hill, plater, ed Elizabeth Rowlinson, figlia di un fondatore dell'ottone.
Ha studiato alla Hazelwood School, una scuola fondata dal riformatore educativo Rowland Hill, e frequentò l'Accademia d'Arte di Joseph Barber a Great Charles Street.
I suoi compagni allievi includevano Thomas Creswick, James Tibbits Willmore, Thomas Baker e Peter Hollins.
Trasferitosi a Londra nel 1839, Hill fu eletto nel 1842 membro della Society of British Artists.
Lì, divenne noto come un "contribuente popolare" tra i suoi colleghi artisti, mostrando le sue opere d'arte in numerose mostre nei successivi quarant'anni.
Ha operato principalmente a Londra, dipingendo molti ritratti di Lady Burdett-Coutts, una filantropa vittoriana, e dei suoi numerosi animali domestici.
Presumibilmente era un suo buon amico.
I suoi dipinti erano noti per raffigurare principalmente ragazze e ragazzi e le loro famiglie che risiedevano in campagna, la natura è presente in quasi tutte le sue opere d'arte, e nella sua carriera successiva è passato dalla pittura principalmente di ritratti e persone alla pittura di paesaggi.
La maggior parte dei suoi dipinti di paesaggi sono stati ispirati dalla sua visita in Irlanda nel 1854.
Ha riscontrato meno successo nella pittura di paesaggi rispetto alle scene di animali selvatici e persone.
Successivamente Hill si dedicò principalmente alla pittura di paesaggi e molti dei suoi dipinti furono pubblicati sui giornali londinesi.
Morì il 27 gennaio 1882, all'età di 71 anni, a Sutton House, Londra, dopo aver contratto la bronchite e fu sepolto in una tomba di famiglia sul lato ovest del cimitero di Highgate. | Fonte: © British Wikipedia