Mount Tallac from Lake Tahoe

Thomas Hill

American

British-born Thomas Hill immigrated to Massachusetts with his family when he was young. He later found himself drawn west, eventually settling in San Francisco, where he made the grandeur of California the subject of many paintings. Even while traveling on the East Coast and in Europe, he continued to paint California scenes. He made annual sketching trips to Yosemite, Mount Shasta, and the White Mountains, and he kept a studio at Yosemite’s Wawona Hotel (now Big Trees Lodge) in his final years.

Born
1826
Died
1908
Mount Tallac from Lake Tahoe by Thomas Hill

How do you think the world sees California?

Hill settled in San Francisco in 1861; he made his first trip to Yosemite Valley in 1865 with painter Virgil Williams and photographer Carleton Watkins. Throughout his career he explored California’s natural scenery, making oil sketches that he later developed into finished paintings. Those works played an important role in shaping public perceptions of California in an era when the state remained otherwise inaccessible to most Americans.
Medium
Oil on canvas
Credit

Bequest of M. H. de Young

Item ID
41.1.8
Dimensions
35 5/8 x 55 7/8 in. (90.5 x 141.9 cm)
Date
1880
Country
Artist name
Thomas Hill
Artwork location