Robin Hill (born 1932) is an Australian artist and writer, living in the United States and specialising in natural history subjects, especially birds.
Hill was born in Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland. He was trained at the Wimbledon School of Art and, after moving back to Australia in 1949, at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. In the early to mid 1960s, he worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as the host on Bush Quest with Robin Hill. Helping to pioneer this television documentary on Australian wildlife with the producer Ken Taylor, Hill used his serious knowledge and love of birds to observe the local bird and wild life across various bush and wetlands of Victoria. Bush Quest with Robin Hill featured Hill describing the Victorian birdlife in an often improvised and poetic style as well as painting particular birds in watercolours that he had observed during the making of each episode. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation produced a total of six 30-minute episodes all in black and white. During this period of the 1960s, as well as producing and exhibiting his paintings, Hill was commissioned by a popular biscuit company to produce paintings for biscuit tins. These tins featured Hill's paintings of birds and circulated commercially within Australia at the time. Hill moved to the United States in 1971, where he established studios in Virginia and Washington D.C. Since then he has had several exhibitions, including a solo show at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and an exhibition cosponsored by the World Wildlife Fund and the Australian Embassy. He has also undertaken numerous commissions. During the 1970s and 1980s, for example, Hill was commissioned to paint complete sets of American birds—The Endangered Species; The Ducks, Geese, and Swans; The Upland Game Birds; The Birds of Prey; and The Marsh Birds.
Early life and family Robin Hill was born in 1932, in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. When he was one, he and his family moved to England where he lived until he was 16. During his childhood in England, he developed his passion for observing Wildlife and the natural environment which later fuelled his art. Whilst living in England, at the age of 11 he began taking classes at the Wimbledon College of Arts in London. In 1949, at the age of 16, Hill moved back to Australia with his family. He transferred to National Gallery Art school where he was enrolled in for two years. Hill then transferred to the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (known at the time as the Melbourne Technical College) where he took classes until he began his hiatus from education. Hill was also a pioneer in the area of Turkey rearing. For three years, Hill lived on native Australian bushland around the Murrumbidgee River area, pausing his education to immerse himself in the Australian environment. After the three years of living in the bush, Hill returned to the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology for another two years until he graduated. In this same year, Hill began his permanent residence in America, setting up art studios in the states of Virginia and Washington D.C.
Robin Hill was married in 1963 to Australian Actress Betty Bobbitt with whom he had a son Christopher Hill. In 1966, Hill and Bobbitt divorced. Hill went on to marry Marcia née McGee, whom he met in 1971 whilst exhibiting his paintings in Middleburg at the Sporting Gallery.
Education Robin Hill attended the Wimbledon School of Art at age eleven during the 1940s, this being the first art education he undertook.Fenton, Peter. "The Art of Robin Hill." Walkabout 33, no.9, 1 September 1967. 27-33. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-749231571 Hill went on to study at the National Gallery Art school in Melbourne in 1949 taking painting classes, during which he won a student prize for a landscape artwork of demolished buildings in the suburb of Carlton, Victoria.Pizzey, Graham. "Robin Hill: Bird Painter." Walkabout 29, no.9, 1 September 1963. 28-31. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-749231571 After two years at the National Gallery Art School, Hill then attended Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology where he enrolled in Harold Freedman's ‘The Art of the Book’ four year book design course studying typography and illustration.Fenton, Peter. "The Art of Robin Hill." Walkabout 33, no.9, 1 September 1967. 27-33. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-749231571 During the final year of his education at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Hill was awarded with an illustration prize as well as a scholarship that funded his tuition.Pizzey, Graham. "Robin Hill: Bird Painter." Walkabout 29, no.9, 1 September 1963. 28-31. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-749231571 He graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a diploma in book designing.Fenton, Peter. "The Art of Robin Hill." Walkabout 33, no.9, 1 September 1967. 27-33. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-749231571
Career During the pause Hill took from his education at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, he lived in the Australian bush and took on temporary seasonal occupation to support this lifestyle.Hill, Robin. "Robin Hill Artist & Naturalist Biography." Robin Hill, 2019. https://www.robinhillartist.com Hill developed a wide range of occupations and skills including sheep shearing, blacksmithing, cattle herding, boundary riding, fruit picking and rail road track working.Hill, Robin. "Robin Hill Artist & Naturalist Biography." Robin Hill, 2019. https://www.robinhillartist.comFenton, Peter. "The Art of Robin Hill." Walkabout 33, no.9, 1 September 1967. 27-33. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-749231571 After graduating Hill took on various jobs that utilised the illustration skills he developed at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, he worked for a packaging company designing packaging for three months, this being his first artistic employment.Pizzey, Graham. "Robin Hill: Bird Painter." Walkabout 29, no.9, 1 September 1963. 28-31. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-749231571 He then went on to work for an advertising agency, followed by working as a magazine illustrator for two years.Pizzey, Graham. "Robin Hill: Bird Painter." Walkabout 29, no.9, 1 September 1963. 28-31. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-749231571 He then taught art classes two years in clay sculpting, illustration and painting, among other artistic techniques.Pizzey, Graham. "Robin Hill: Bird Painter." Walkabout 29, no.9, 1 September 1963. 28-31. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-749231571 Hill's first profitable exhibition was held in 1958 at the Australian Galleries where he exhibited lithographs of birds of prey. His works sold out and he received around 500 pounds.Pizzey, Graham. "Robin Hill: Bird Painter." Walkabout 29, no.9, 1 September 1963. 28-31. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-749231571 After this, he went on to continue teaching whilst doing commissions.
Television series Throughout the 1970s, Hill was involved graphic work for television, employed first by ABV2 television's graphic design department for which he designed the televised animations and title graphicsPizzey, Graham. "Robin Hill: Bird Painter." Walkabout 29, no.9, 1 September 1963. 28-31. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-749231571 for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's first televised nature documentary series Bush Quest with Robin Hill with director and producer Ken Taylor.Hill, Robin. "Robin Hill Artist & Naturalist Biography." Robin Hill, 2019. https://www.robinhillartist.comDibley, Ben, and Gay Hawkins. "Making animals public: early wildlife television and the emergence of environmental nationalism on the ABC." Continuum 33, no. 6 (2019): 744-758. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2019.1669533 This series began broadcasting in 1970, with Hill as the host providing observations and commentary on bird species in the state of Victoria.Dibley, Ben, and Gay Hawkins. "Making animals public: early wildlife television and the emergence of environmental nationalism on the ABC." Continuum 33, no. 6 (2019): 744-758. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2019.1669533 The success of his contribution to wildlife television on the ABC was foundational for the formation of the 1973 ABC Natural History Unit. Hill increased traction for wildlife documentaries on the ABC with the series Wild Australia being based on Hill's series.Dibley, Ben, and Gay Hawkins. "Making animals public: early wildlife television and the emergence of environmental nationalism on the ABC." Continuum 33, no. 6 (2019): 744-758. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2019.1669533 The series focused on observing a wide range of species to showcase diversity and the importance of environmental sustainability, this being a common focus in 1970's wildlife documentaries.Taylor, Ken. "Natural History Filming in Australia." BKSTS Journal 58, no. 6 (1976): 176-178.Scholey, Keith. "A History of Half a Century of Wildlife Television and its Impact on Audiences." In Changing Perceptions of Nature edited by Ian Convery and Peter Davis, 165-170. Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer, 2016. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt19x3hsb.23 The series emphasised environmental issues of which Ken Taylor and Hill had become aware observing degradation of habitats in New South Wales.Taylor, Ken. "Natural History Filming in Australia." BKSTS Journal 58, no. 6 (1976): 176-178. The series advocated for conservation of natural habitats, cultivating a rising awareness of environmental issues in Australian television, adding to a trend of televised recognition of human impact on the environmental that was gathering pace in the 1970s.Dibley, Ben, and Gay Hawkins. "Making animals public: early wildlife television and the emergence of environmental nationalism on the ABC." Continuum 33, no. 6 (2019): 744-758. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2019.1669533Horak, Jan-Christopher. "Wildlife Documentaries: From Classical Forms to Reality TV." Film History 18, no. 4 (2006): 459-475. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25165402
Paintings Hill's subject-matter and capability is broad; he has painted not only birds, but also animals such as dogs and farm animalsHill, Robin. "Robin Hill Artist & Naturalist Biography." Robin Hill, 2019. https://www.robinhillartist.com and human portraits,Hill, Robin. "Robin Hill Artist & Naturalist Biography." Robin Hill, 2019. https://www.robinhillartist.com still life, landscapes, industrial sites and pre-Columbian ruins,Hill, Robin. "Robin Hill Artist & Naturalist Biography." Robin Hill, 2019. https://www.robinhillartist.com in as watercolour, gouache and oils.Hill, Robin. "Robin Hill Artist & Naturalist Biography." Robin Hill, 2019. https://www.robinhillartist.com
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