Yellowstone art history lesson

Abby Williams Hill (1861-1943) was an artist who painted Yellowstone in the early 1900's. She was also known for painting other western landscapes and national parks. She painted some florals, still lifes and Native American portraits as well. A very interesting woman for her day.

The railroad companies commissioned artists in that day and age to paint western scenes to 'lure the tourists' out here. Abby garnered four successive contracts with major railway companies which provided extensive periods for camping and landscape painting.

She was here in Yellowstone plein air painting for one of those commissions... bringing her 4 children (who she home schooled) with her. There are photos of them all lounging in their tent together. Her physician husband remained in Tacoma.

Abby was a great record keeper, so there are many many journals recording her adventures. The curator was kind enough to pull her Yellowstone journal for us to see.

She describes her adventures in Yellowstone in her journals...and there are many adventures as you can imagine! On her second day, she has a long descriptive entry and finishes it with "When I try to write it all, I feel helpless. There is nothing like Yellowstone Park and one must see it for themselves."

Most of her work is now in the collection of the University of Puget Sound. We visited with the curator and toured the halls to see the collection last week.

The Abby Williams Hill art collection is here
at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington

I chose a few of my favorite paintings that we saw to post....

Yellowstone Falls (from below)

 

 

 

Yellowstone Falls

 

 

 

String Lake

(in Grand Teton National Park)

 

To learn more about her and see more of her work, the book Abby Williams Hill is on sale at the University of Puget Sound bookstore. Written by Ronald Fields, faculty in their Art Department - he states in his foreword in the book...

"When I first began my research on Abby Hill, I was so taken by her extraordinary personality and unusual life, that it was difficult to pay attention to the paintings themselves. I trust the reader will also be captivated by this remarkable woman".