Abby Williams Hill: Painter of the American West
January 9, 2008

Tacoma, WA - Collected works of Abby Williams Hill, western pioneer and landscape artist, will be exhibited at Kittredge Art Gallery at University of Puget Sound Jan. 22-March 12, 2008. Abby Williams Hill (1861-1943) left a remarkable legacy of individual achievement as a western woman artist. Her extant work, more than 100 canvases, spans a period of 50 years from the 1880s to the 1930s. Those paintings, given to University of Puget Sound by her daughter-in-law, the wife of Romayne Hill, will be on display. In addition to her landscapes, the exhibition will also feature works Hill made documenting the Native American community she came in contact with in her travels. Curated by Andrea Moody and Carol Mallett Adelman, the exhibition will include many recently restored works.

Driven by a desire to experience the grandeur of rugged, dramatic mountain scenery and to paint those vistas, Abby Williams Hill rejected the comforts of home and arranged to spend a good portion of her life painting in the wilderness with her young children. Hill produced dozens of landscape paintings that were commissioned by railroad companies to extol the virtues of Northwest scenery.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a podcast of readings from Hill's papers that will be posted at www.ups.edu/kittredge.xml. The public is invited to exhibition events that include: 

Opening Reception: Wednesday, Jan. 23, 5-6:30 p.m.
Gallery Talk: Monday, Feb. 11, 5 p.m.

Kittredge Gallery
Location: University of Puget Sound, N. 15th St. at N. Lawrence St., Tacoma, WA
Map: www.ups.edu/campusmap.xml
Hours: Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday, noon-5 p.m.
For additional information call the art department at 253.879.2806.
Web: www.ups.edu/kittredge.xml

Kittredge Gallery is a venue for contemporary art, exhibiting work by noted regional and national artists. The gallery serves as a teaching tool for the art department and a cultural resource for both the university and the community at large. Exhibits and artist talks are free and open to the public.

CONTACT
mediarelations@ups.edu
253.879.2611
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