Artist Details

Derek Hill

Portfolio

Country House, Staatsburg

 

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(1916 – 2000)

As is so often the case with artists, Derek Hill’s star is certainly in the ascendant seven years after his death, with his works steadily increasing in price and his reputation growing.

He had a long association with Donegal, beginning when he visited Glenveagh Castle to paint the portrait of the Irish-American art collector Henry P. McIlhenny, whose grandfather came from Milford.

Around 1954 Hill bought the former St Columb’s hotel at Gartan near Churchill (“very comfortable and a great resort for fishermen” – Londonderry and the Donegal Highlands, 1907). Although an inveterate traveler, he spent a good part of his year in Donegal from then on, including regular trips to his beloved Tory Island.

Born in Hampshire the son of a wealthy sugar trader, Derek was a noted portrait painter who had many of the great and the good as sitters. However, as his friend Grey Gowrie noted in a book on Hill, the landscapes also have a special appeal. His well-known oil showing Tory Island from Tor Mor is currently on exhibition at the National Gallery in Dublin.

The two landscapes featured in the Ross Fine Art summer exhibition, ‘Country House, Staatsburg’ and ‘View of Hudson, Staatsburg’, have an interesting provenance. They are from the collection of Helen Huntington Hull, the first wife of one of the richest men in the US, Vincent Astor.

This stretch of the Hudson was favoured by some of America’s most prominent families from the late 19th century onwards. Neighbours of Mrs Hull included FDR Roosevelt, the Vanderbilts and the Astors. She died in 1976, and recent owners of her home have included ‘Penthouse’ mogul Robert Guccione and hotelier Andre Balazs, who was the partner of actress Uma Thurman when he purchased in 2004 for around $6m.

Back in Donegal, Derek Hill’s home in Churchill is now open to the public and one of the county’s major tourist attractions. His interesting art collection and highly-eclectic taste make a tour a novel experience. A fine Charlie Brady just inside the front door makes for a good start, and you may notice a Kokoschka or a Picasso on your peregrination. The Glebe gallery beside the house has hosted exhibitions of world-renowned artists.

‘Country House, Staatsburg’ and ‘View of Hudson, Staatsburg’ are characteristic of the work of Hill, gems which are beautifully painted and so well-matched they simply have to be sold as a pair. And maybe they’ll find a home where he did, here in Donegal.