Portrait of Mrs. Louis Hill

MMAA_86.03.01w.jpg

Artist

James Jerome Hill
1905-1972
Born in St. Paul, MN

Title

Portrait of Mrs. Louis Hill

Date

1948-1961

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimension

13 3/4 x 13 inches

Credit Line

Purchase, Acquisition Fund

Object ID

86.03.01

Notes

The photograph was originally titled, Portrait of Mrs. James J. Hill, and dated 1986. The M's curator corrected the title on July 25, 1986. This correction was based on a letter from May 13, 1986 indicating the portrait was of James Jerome Hill's mother, not his wife. The letter described the photograph as follows: "Portrait of Mrs. Hill, done by son, Jerome Hill." Due to the fact Mrs. Louis W. Hill (Maud Hill) passed away on August 23, 1961, the date of the photograph was listed as "unknown."

After she divorced Jerome Hill's father, Louis, Maud maintained her own home on Portland Avenue in St. Paul, MN. In "Privileged Perspectives: The Photography of Jerome Hill," author George Slade stated that Jerome Hill took photos in St. Paul in 1948. Maud would have been 78.

The photograph was later found in Robert Orr Baker's booklet, One Family, located in the Minnesota Historical Society Manuscripts Collection. The caption of the photograph reads, "Photograph of Maud Hill taken by her son James Jerome Hill in the 1950s at her home, 475 Portland Ave, St. Paul, MN."

Based on records that state Jerome Hill was taking photographs in St. Paul beginning in 1948, it was determined that the photograph of Maud Hill was taken between 1948 and her death in 1961.

Publications

Baker, Robert Orr. One Family, p. 35. Saint Paul: 1986.

Minnesota Historical Society Manuscripts Collection, Jerome Hill Papers, P2514, Box 38, Folder 17. Hill, Maud (Mrs. Louis W. Hill, Sr.), undated and 1948-1953. (H-0448 through H-0455). 3 folders.

Rights Statement

In Copyright