Tristram Paul Hillier (11 April 1905 – 18 January 1983) was an English

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

painter. He was a member of the

Unit One Unit One was a British grouping of Modernist artists founded by Paul Nash. The group included painters, sculptors and architects, and was active from 1933 to 1935. It held one exhibition, which began at the Mayor Gallery in Cork Street, Londo ...

group led by Paul Nash.

Early life and education

Tristram Hillier was born on 11 April 1905 in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China, the youngest of the four children of Edward Guy Hillier (1857–1924), a banker and diplomat, and Ada Everett. His elder siblings were Winifred, Maurice and Madeline. In 1906, he ‘''came to Europe from Peking for the first time at the age of six months in the company of my mother, my brother and wosisters, a Japanese ‘ Amah’ and two Chinese servants''’. The Amah was Tuk-San, a Roman Catholic convert, who was "the real influence in my life then and for many years later... and meant more to me ...than my own mother. A

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, he was educated at

Downside School Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 11 to 18. It is located between Bath, Frome, Wells and Bruton, and is attached to Downside Abbey. Originall ...

. In 1922 he returned to China to study the language, and visit his sister Madeline and Tuk-San and then until 1924 attended Christ's College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. He went to the

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

in 1926, where he studied under

Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a Caricature, caricaturist. He became an influentia ...

, and then to Paris where he studied for two years under

André Lhote André Lhote (5 July 1885 – 24 January 1962) was a French Cubist painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes and still life. He was also active and influential as a teacher and writer on art. Early life and education Lhote was born ...

, and also at the Atelier Colarossi.

Career

In Paris he met many members of the Surrealist movement; he was particularly influenced by

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( , ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the '' scuola metafisica'' art movement, which profoundly influ ...

and

Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealism ...

. He lived in France until 1940, but travelled extensively; he remained a surrealist painter throughout his life. His first one-man show was at the

Lefevre Gallery The Lefevre Gallery (or The Lefevre Galleries) was an art gallery in London, England, operated by Alex. Reid & Lefevre Ltd. The gallery was opened at 1a, King Street, St James's, in 1926, when rival art dealers Alexander Reid and Ernest Lefe ...

in 1931; he later exhibited mainly at Tooth's Gallery. From 1933 he was a member of the

group led by Paul Nash. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served in the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

with the

Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

. After the war he lived in France and in Spain, and then went to live at Yew Tree House,

East Pennard East Pennard is a village and civil parish north west of Castle Cary, and south of Shepton Mallet, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It has a population of 348. The parish includes the hamlets of Stone, Parbrook and Huxham. It is ve ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England. His autobiography ''Leda and the Goose'' was published in 1954. A retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Worthing Gallery in 1960. He was made an Associate of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

(ARA) in 1957, and a Royal Academician (RA) in 1967.

Personal life

Hiller married twice. From 1931 to 1935 he was married to Irene Rose Hodgkins, the daughter of a

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...

, with whom he had twin sons, Jonathan and Benjamin. From 1937 he was married to Leda Millicent Hardcastle, daughter of Sydney Hardcastle, the inventor of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Hardcastle torpedo; they had two daughters, Mary and Anna-Clare. He was a strict and aloof parent, and was given to darkening moods. Tristram Hillier died in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England, on 18 January 1983. He was buried at

Glanvilles Wootton Glanvilles Wootton, or Wootton Glanville, is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It is situated in the Blackmore Vale under the scarp of the Dorset Downs, south of Sherborne. In the 2011 Census the parish ha ...

Church, five miles south of Sherborne, Dorset on 22 January 1983 (record number 732 in the Parish Registers of burials 1880–1985).

Works

Works by Tristram Hillier are held in the collections of the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

and many other public and private collections. An exhibition at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton, ran from 9 November 2019 – 18 April 2020, se
Landscapes of the Mind: The Art of Tristram Hillier

References

External links