John T. Hill studied to be painter; soon his interests broadened to focus on design and photography. His career has been defined by his work in these two related fields. As a graduate student at the Yale School of Art and Architecture, he studied with Alvin Eisenman, Herbert Matter, Norman Ives, and Paul Rand. On graduating, he joined the faculty to teach graphic design and photography. Hill became Yale’s first Director of Graduate Studies in Photography.
Walker Evans began teaching in the Yale Graphic Design Program in 1964.
He and Hill became friends and colleagues, leading to Hill being asked to
serve as Evans’ executor. On Evans’ death in 1975 one of Hill’s goals was
to correct the reading of his work as a limited record of poverty in the rural South. For Hill and many others, Evans’ photographs were profound observations not limited to that time and place.
During and after his 19 year tenure as Evans’ executor, Hill created numerous exhibitions of prints made from Evans’ negatives. He has produced five books: Walker Evans: First and Last; Walker Evans at Work, Walker Evans Havana 1933, and Walker Evans: The Hungry Eye. It remains in print eighteen years after its initial publication. In 2006 Steidl published “Walker Evans: Lyric Documentary.” The writing, design, and digital files were provided by Hill.
Hill has been active as a photographer from the beginning of his professional career. In 1965 he opened a commercial studio in New York, concentrating on corporate and architectural accounts. In a parallel vein he has pursued his personal photography with many instances of the two interest aligning.
For the last decade, Hill has used technology unavailable during Evans’ lifetime — the rapidly-changing techniques of scanning, file adjustment, and digital printing — aiming to capture the artists’ intentions on paper. John T. Hill of Martson Hill Editions makes fine digital prints working closely with the images of historical and contemporary artists.
