Of English descent, John Henry Hill was the third and final representative of the Hill family artistic dynasty. He was the son of John William Hill (1812-1879), the American Pre-Raphaelite painter influenced by John Ruskin, and the grandson of John Hill (1770-1850), the esteemed engraver of many seminal early American landscapes, among them The Hudson River Portfolio (1820-25) after watercolors by William Guy Wall. Not surprisingly, John Henry Hill studied under his father and in 1856 exhibited for the first time at the National Academy of Design. Three years later he became an associate member, and thereafter exhibited his watercolors, aquatints, and etchings in New York City and Philadelphia. In 1864-65 he spent about eight months in England, studying the work of J.M.W. Turner and other British artists. He published twenty-four of his etchings in 1867 under the title Sketches from Nature. In 1868 he went West, accompanying Clarence King's surveying expedition in California, Nevada, Idaho, and Utah. A decade later, in 1878, he made a second visit to England, subsequently traveling on the Continent the following year. After his father's death he returned home and in 1888 he published An Artist's Memorial in honor of him.

Of English descent, John Henry Hill was the third and final representative of the Hill family artistic dynasty. He was the son of John William Hill (1812-1879), the American Pre-Raphaelite painter influenced by John Ruskin, and the grandson of John Hill (1770-1850), the esteemed engraver of many seminal early American landscapes, among them The Hudson River Portfolio (1820-25) after watercolors by William Guy Wall. Not surprisingly, John Henry Hill studied under his father and in 1856 exhibited for the first time at the National Academy of Design. Three years later he became an associate member, and thereafter exhibited his watercolors, aquatints, and etchings in New York City and Philadelphia. In 1864-65 he spent about eight months in England, studying the work of J.M.W. Turner and other British artists. He published twenty-four of his etchings in 1867 under the title Sketches from Nature. In 1868 he went West, accompanying Clarence King's surveying expedition in California, Nevada, Idaho, and Utah. A decade later, in 1878, he made a second visit to England, subsequently traveling on the Continent the following year. After his father's death he returned home and in 1888 he published An Artist's Memorial in honor of him.