Hill, Jerome

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Hill, a filmmaker, artist and philanthropist, maintained friendships and working relationships with a wide variety of artists and musicians both mainstream and experimental. His innovations in documentary film and in feature films have been influential. His papers also represent a unique vantage point into the families of railroad magnates James J. Hill and Louis W. Hill, his grandfather and father, respectively.

James Jerome Hill was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on March 2, 1905. He was born into the family of Louis W. Hill, one of the prominent families of Saint Paul and heirs to the railroad fortune of James J. Hill, the famed "Empire Builder." Hill's father and grandfather maintained large collections of artwork from contemporary and classic European painters, such as Corot, Rousseau and Delacroix, and Hill was fascinated and inspired by these paintings to begin painting and drawing from an early age.

Hill grew up in Saint Paul, attending the Saint Paul Academy, and then attended Yale College. Upon graduation in 1927 with a degree in Music, Hill traveled to Europe and began studies in painting. On trips with family and friends in Europe, Hill experimented with still photography and with early motion picture cameras.

In the late 1920s, while painting landscapes in the south of France, Hill discovered a piece of property in Cassis, a scenic port town on the Mediterranean Sea. Hill purchased the property and began sharing his time between Cassis and Paris in 1930. Although Hill also maintained a residence in Norden, California, and lived in New York City for long stretches, Cassis would remain his physical and spiritual home for the majority of his life.

Hill also maintained a residence in Norden, California, at the ski resort called "Sugar Bowl." Hill's interest in skiing led to his first major documentary film, "Snow Flight," which was filmed at Mount Rainier in Washington and distributed by Warner Brothers.

Hill painted and made short films throughout the 1930s, and continued to do so until he joined the military in World War II. While in the Army, he served in multiple capacities: he scripted training films, worked in aerial photography and surveillance groups, and used his language skills as part of the Prisoner of War Interrogation units. After his service, he returned to his property in Cassis, which had suffered only minor damage under German occupation. Hill spent the rest of the 1940s painting and traveling, before restarting his film making career in 1949 with his documentary on the American painter Grandma Moses.

The film was released in 1950 to wide acclaim. It also marked the beginning of Hill's professional collaborations with Erica Anderson, who played a critical role in the making of Hill's next major film, "Albert Schweitzer." The film won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature of 1957. Hill also collaborated with Schweitzer on a series of pipe organ performances of Bach compositions, recorded at a church in Schweitzer's hometown of Gunsbach in the Alsatian Munster valley of France. These were captured in Hill's film "Schweitzer and Bach."

During the 1950s, Hill also found time to begin a series of performing arts festivals in Cassis, France. These festivals offered exposure to a wide variety of European theatre professionals and musicians, many of which Hill helped support financially.

Also in the 1960s, Hill made two feature films: "The Sand Castle," a Jungian allegory, and "Open the Door and See all the People," a farcical comedy. For both of these films, Hill took complete control, acting as producer, writer and director. The 1960s also marked Hill's most prolific period of painting, with at least 300 canvases finished in that decade.

Hill took time in the 1960s and early 1970s to formalize his longtime support of artists by creating foundations to provide grants. The Avon Foundation (now known as the Jerome Foundation) and the Carmargo Foundation continue to fund artists, scholars, and non-profit arts organizations to the present day.

Hill died in November 1972, shortly after completing his cinematic memoir, "Film Portrait."

Biographical information was taken from the collection.

From the guide to the Jerome Hill papers., 1909-2005 (bulk 1909-1986)., (Minnesota Historical Society)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Herbert Machiz records concerning the Artists' Theatre, New York, 1954-1976. Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
referencedIn Boston Theatre (Washington Street, Boston, Mass.) orchestra music, ca. 1860-1900. Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
referencedIn Hill, Jerome : Biographical file. Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
referencedIn Wodening, Jane, 1936-. Jane Wodening and Stan Brakhage scrapbooks, 1958-1967. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Hill, Louis Warren, d. 1948. Louis W. Hill papers, 1739-1995 (bulk 1887-1950). Minnesota Historical Society Library
referencedIn Edison Sheet Music Collection, 1830-1958, (bulk 1890-1940) Library of Congress. Music Division
creatorOf Hill, Jerome, 1905-1972. Jerome Hill papers, 1909-2001 (bulk 1909-1972). Minnesota Historical Society, Division of Archives and Manuscripts
referencedIn Babcock Galleries. Hill, Jerome, 1905-1972 : artist file. The Barnes Foundation, Barnes Foundation Libraries and Special Collections
referencedIn Maud Hill Schroll papers, 1903-1935, 1967. Minnesota Historical Society
referencedIn Essential cinema repertory collection, [ca. 1915-1972], [ca. 1960-1970] (bulk) New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Film stills collection, [ca. 1920-1970], [ca. 1960-1970] (bulk). New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Alec Wilder papers, 1939-2000 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
creatorOf Hill, Jerome. Hill, Jerome : [photography bio file]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
referencedIn Maud Van Cortlandt Taylor Hill papers, 1777-1986. Minnesota Historical Society
referencedIn Hill Family Collection., 1739-1995 (bulk 1850-1960). Minnesota Historical Society
referencedIn Brennan, Francis Edwin, 1910-1992. Papers of Francis Edwin Brennan, 1927-1984 (bulk 1940-1979). Library of Congress
referencedIn Hill-Boeckmann family photograph collection [graphic], ca. 1856-1907. Minnesota Historical Society
creatorOf Hill family. Hill family collection, 1739-1995 (bulk 1850-1960). Minnesota Historical Society Library
creatorOf Hill, Jerome, 1905-1972. Artist file. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
creatorOf Hill, Maud Van Cortlandt Taylor, 1870-1961. Maud Van Cortlandt Taylor Hill papers, 1777-1986. Minnesota Historical Society Library
creatorOf Wilder, Alec. Alec Wilder papers, 1939-2000. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Louis W. Hill papers., 1739-1995 (Bulk 1887-1950). Minnesota Historical Society
creatorOf HILL, JEROME. Artist file : miscellaneous uncataloged material. Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
creatorOf Jerome Hill papers., 1909-2005 (bulk 1909-1986). Minnesota Historical Society
referencedIn Schroll, Maud Van Cortlandt Hill Dorcy, 1903-1997. Maud Hill Schroll papers, 1903-1935, 1967. Minnesota Historical Society Library
referencedIn Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Records, 1905-1993 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
referencedIn Hill, Jerome : [miscellaneous ephemeral material]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
referencedIn Myers family papers, 1908-1986 (inclusive) Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Albee, Edward, 1928- person
associatedWith Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. corporateBody
associatedWith Anderson, Erica. person
associatedWith Anderson, Erica. person
associatedWith Anthology Film Archives. corporateBody
associatedWith Avon Foundation. corporateBody
associatedWith Barnes, Virginia Hood. person
associatedWith Barnes, Virginia Hood. person
associatedWith Barrett, Jack. person
associatedWith Barrett, Jack. person
associatedWith Beard, Peter H. (Peter Hill), 1938- person
associatedWith Bell, Eleanor. person
associatedWith Bell, Eleanor. person
associatedWith Boston Theatre (Washington Street, Boston, Mass.) corporateBody
associatedWith Brennan, Francis Edwin, 1910-1992. person
associatedWith Carmargo Foundation. corporateBody
associatedWith Clark, Irving. person
associatedWith Clark, Irving. person
associatedWith Daour, Jeanne. person
associatedWith Daour, Jeanne. person
associatedWith Eisendrath, William. person
associatedWith Eisendrath, William. person
associatedWith Guller, Youra. person
associatedWith Hill, Cortlandt. person
associatedWith Hill, Cortlandt. person
associatedWith Hill family. family
associatedWith Hill Family. family
associatedWith Hill, Louis Warren, d. 1948. person
associatedWith Hill, Louis W. (Louis Warren), 1902-1995. person
associatedWith Hill, Maud Van Cortlandt Taylor, 1870-1961. person
associatedWith Jerome Foundation. corporateBody
associatedWith Kambach, June. person
associatedWith Kambach, June. person
associatedWith Lang, Otto. person
associatedWith Lang, Otto. person
correspondedWith Machiz, Herbert. person
associatedWith Martin, Hugh. person
associatedWith Mekas, Jonas. person
associatedWith Myers, Alice Lee. person
associatedWith Myers family. family
associatedWith Myers family. family
associatedWith Myers, Richard. person
associatedWith Myers, Richard. person
associatedWith Oakes, Maud. person
associatedWith Osborn, Robert. person
associatedWith Osborn, Robert. person
associatedWith Schroll, Maud Hill. person
associatedWith Schroll, Maud Hill. person
associatedWith Schroll, Maud Van Cortlandt Hill Dorcy, 1903-1997. person
associatedWith Schweitzer, Albert, 1875-1965. person
associatedWith Thomas A. Edison, Inc. corporateBody
associatedWith Welty, Eudora, 1909-2001 person
associatedWith Wilder, Alec person
associatedWith Wilder, Alec. person
associatedWith Wodening, Jane, 1936- person
associatedWith Young, Russell. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Minnesota
New York (N.Y.)
New York (N.Y.)
Cassis (France)
Norden (Calif.)
Norden (Calif.)
Saint Paul (Minn.)
United States
Cassis (France)
Saint Paul (Minn.)
Subject
Experimental films
Motion picture industry
Motion picture industry
Motion picture music
Philanthropy
Photographers
Photography
Women cinematographers
Occupation
Actors and actresses
Cinematographers
Composers
Independent filmmakers
Painter
Photographers
Activity

Person

Birth 1905-03-02

Death 1972-11-21

Information

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