The Derek Hill Collection at Mottisfont

An oil painting of Lake Como by the artist Derek Hill

We're home to a collection of 20th-century art, including works by L.S. Lowry, Barbara Hepworth and Graham Sutherland. They were gifted to us by the artist Derek Hill, in memory of a long friendship with last owner Maud Russell.

Derek Hill's legacy

Hampshire-born Derek Hill was a talented landscape and portrait artist. He was rich enough to buy the works of painters who had influenced him, and sociable and thoughtful enough to encourage talent in others.

He was a frequent visitor to Mottisfont due to a close friendship with Maud Russell, who commissioned works from him. In 1996, Hill gave his collection of 86 pictures to the National Trust through The Art Fund, to be displayed here.

The collection includes some of Hill's own work, including a pencil drawing of Maud Russell, and paintings of Tory Island. There are also pieces by Modern Movement painters who had inspired him, such as Gwen and Augustus John, Degas, Edwin Landseer, and Georges Seurat.

Sunset in Scotland, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer RA
An oil painting of a Scottish landscape by Edwin Landseer, part of the Derek Hill Collection at Mottisfont
Sunset in Scotland, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer RA