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David Octavius Hill

(1802-1870), Landscape and portrait painter; pioneer photographer

Sitter associated with 22 portraits
Artist associated with 382 portraits
David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson were among the first in the world to grasp the artistic possibilities of photography. They were brought together at the Disruption of the Church of Scotland in 1843, a significant event that laid the foundations for the Free Church of Scotland. Adamson photographed the participants as studies for a proposed painting by Hill, but the two men quickly realised the potential of the new medium as an end in itself and not just as a means to an end. Between 1843 and Adamson's death in 1848, they made over 3,000 calotype images, of Edinburgh's great and good, of fisherfolk and soldiers, of visiting celebrities and of landscapes and buildings.

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Robert Adamson, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(181)

Robert Adamson

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(181)

Sir William Allan, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(35)

Sir William Allan

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(35)

Sir William Allan, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(55)

Sir William Allan

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(55)

Sir Wyndham Carmichael Anstruther, 7th Bt, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(43)

Sir Wyndham Carmichael Anstruther, 7th Bt

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(43)

James Aytoun, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(36)

James Aytoun

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(36)

Jeanie Wilson, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(207)

Jeanie Wilson

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(207)

James Ballantyne, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(82)

James Ballantyne

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(82)

James Ballantyne, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(95)

James Ballantyne

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(95)

Edinburgh Ale, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(141)

Edinburgh Ale

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(141)

A Discussion, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(143)

A Discussion

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(143)

Sleeping Child (Miss Bell), by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(170)

Sleeping Child (Miss Bell)

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(170)

Isabella Morrison Bell (née Adamson), by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(119)

Isabella Morrison Bell (née Adamson)

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(119)

George William Bell, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(70)

George William Bell

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(70)

Thomas Blizard Bell, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(64)

Thomas Blizard Bell

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(64)

Free Church Committee, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(104)

Free Church Committee

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(104)

Sir David Brewster, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(10)

Sir David Brewster

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843
NPG P6(10)

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