Charles Christie Hill, (born 25 October 1945) is a Canadian curator and writer, well known for his exhibitions of historical Canadian art and major catalogues on the
Group of Seven
The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is official ...
, Canadian Art in the 1930s, and
Emily Carr
Emily Carr (or M. Emily Carr as she sometimes signed her work) (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist and writer who was inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the painters in Canada to ado ...
. In his 47-year duration at the National Gallery of Canada (he retired in 2014), he has acted as an invaluable resource to students of historical Canadian art. In addition, he has played a key role in making the Gallery's Canadian art library and archives a key centre of research. In Canadian art what may be referred to as the Charles C. Hill brand of exhibition cataloguing offers rich resource material beyond the scholarly essays.
Early life
Charlie Hill`s family has been associated with Ottawa since early Bytown days
and he was born and grew up there. He left Ottawa in 1963 to attend
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
in Montreal where he obtained his BA in Fine Arts and French Literature in 1966, then went to Toronto where he obtained his MA in the History of Art at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
(1969). However, his life and career mainly have been in Ottawa since 1967 when he began to work at the
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...
as a summer student.
Career
After working as a lecturer at the
Ontario College of Art
Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...
in Toronto,
teaching the history of Canadian art (1970–1971), he was hired by the
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...
to work in the library, then as the assistant curator of Post-Confederation art in 1972.
In 1980, he was made the National Gallery curator of the permanent collection of Canadian art up to 1970, in charge of its care, installation and development.
In his work as a curator, he organized such important, ground-breaking exhibitions accompanied by major book catalogues as ''Canadian Painting in the 30s'' (1975),
''Morrice A Gift to the Nation The G. Blair Laing Collection'' (1992); ''The Group of Seven: Art for a Nation'' (1995), (with
Dennis Reid)
Tom Thomson
Thomas John Thomson (August 5, 1877July 8, 1917) was a Canadian artist active in the early 20th century. During his short career, he produced roughly 400 oil sketches on small wood panels and approximately 50 larger works on canvas. His w ...
, (2002), (with Johanne Lamoureaux and others) ''
Emily Carr
Emily Carr (or M. Emily Carr as she sometimes signed her work) (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist and writer who was inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the painters in Canada to ado ...
: New Perspectives on a Canadian Icon'' (2006), and ''Artists, Architects and Artisans 1890–1918'' (2013)
as well as co-authoring with Pierre B. Landry ''Catalogue of the National Gallery of Canada Ottawa Canadian Art Volume One A – F''.
Among his other shows are ''To Found a National Gallery: the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, 1880–1919'' (1980). He also lectured widely on his exhibitions.
Hill counts among his major acquisitions Emily Carr`s ''The Welcome Man'', the gift of
Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
, and
Charles Comfort
Charles Fraser Comfort, LL. D. (July 22, 1900 – July 5, 1994) was a Scotland-born Canadian painter, sculptor, teacher, writer and administrator.
Career and biography
Early life
Born near Edinburgh, Scotland, Comfort moved to Winnipeg in 1 ...
`s ''The Romance of Nickle'', given by
Natural Resources Canada
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; french: Ressources naturelles Canada; french: RNCan, label=none)Natural Resources Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Natural Resources (). is the depa ...
. He had been at the National Gallery 47 years when he retired in 2014.
In 2001, he was made a member of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
. He received an honorary doctorate from
Concordia University
Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
in Montreal in 2002.
Personal life
He was the first president of the University of the Toronto Homophile Association (1969), was a co-organizer of the first large-scale gay rights demonstration in Canada,
We Demand
The We Demand Rally was the first large scale gay rights demonstration in Canada. The rally occurred on August 28, 1971 in Ottawa, and was organized by the gay rights activist groups Toronto Gay Action (TGA) and Community Homophile Association ...
(1972),
and became president of Gays of Ottawa the same year, until 1975.
His portrait hangs in the National Portrait Collection of
The ArQuives
The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives, formerly known as the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, is a Canadian non-profit organization, founded in 1973 as the Canadian Gay Liberation Movement Archives. The ArQuives acquires, preserves, and pro ...
.
His long-term partner is Brian Foss, professor of art history and until 2021 director of
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...
`s School for Studies in Art and Culture.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Charles C.
1945 births
Living people
Canadian art curators
Members of the Order of Canada
Canadian gay writers
Canadian male non-fiction writers
Canadian art historians
20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers
21st-century Canadian male writers
Canadian LGBT rights activists
21st-century Canadian LGBT people
McGill University alumni
University of Toronto alumni