WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›John Hillers

John Hillers

Artist

WA-00027590

Photography

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ3496023 ULAN500025352

MoMA

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Self Portrait: The Photographer's Persona, 1840�1985

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1985–1986

No image

American Landscapes

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1981

No image

Photography

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1944

No image

Photographs of the Civil War and the American Frontier

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1942

Field Verification (1 fields)

1 cross-verified · 0 single-source

BiographyMoMA· 93%✓

Source Registry (2)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/2651
Tier 1 · Institutional92%
Artsy (bulk)https://www.artsy.net/artist/john-k-hillers
Tier 1 · Institutional85%

About

Why this artist matters now

John Hillers was an American photographer and cartographer active in the late nineteenth century, best known for his documentation of geological surveys and landscape exploration in the American West. Working primarily with large-format albumen and gelatin dry plate processes, he produced extensive visual records of canyon systems, river valleys, and indigenous settlements across the Colorado Plateau and surrounding regions. His photographs served both scientific and archival purposes, establishing a visual record of geological formations and settlements during a period of rapid Western expansion.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

—

Medium

Photography

Related Artists

6 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Museum of Modern ArtNew York Art Institute of Chicago Rijksmuseum Cleveland Museum of Art

Canonical record

Artworks (20)

Zuni, Watching

1879 · Albumen print

Image/paper: 23 × 18.3 cm (9 1/16 × 7 1/4 in.); Mount: 38.4 × 33.1 cm (15 1/8 × 13 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

East Fork, de Chelly River, Arizona

1879 · albumen print from wet collodion negative

Image: 32.4 x 24.4 cm (12 3/4 x 9 5/8 in.); Paper: 32.4 x 24.4 cm (12 3/4 x 9 5/8 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Ruins of Cliff Dwellings, Cañon de Chelly, Arizona

1879 · albumen print from wet collodion negative

Image: 33.2 x 25 cm (13 1/16 x 9 13/16 in.); Matted: 61 x 50.8 cm (24 x 20 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Zuni, Watching

1879 · Albumen print

Image/paper: 23 × 18.3 cm (9 1/16 × 7 1/4 in.); Mount: 38.4 × 33.1 cm (15 1/8 × 13 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Ruins of Cliff Dwellings, Cañon de Chelly, Arizona

1879 · albumen print from wet collodion negative

Image: 33.2 x 25 cm (13 1/16 x 9 13/16 in.); Matted: 61 x 50.8 cm (24 x 20 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

East Fork, de Chelly River, Arizona

1879 · albumen print from wet collodion negative

Image: 32.4 x 24.4 cm (12 3/4 x 9 5/8 in.); Paper: 32.4 x 24.4 cm (12 3/4 x 9 5/8 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Pueblo of Wolpi

1876 · collotype on paper

width: 216 cm, height: 160 cm

Rijksmuseum

North Pueblo of Taas

1876 · collotype on paper

width: 218 cm, height: 161 cm

Rijksmuseum

Cliff Ruins near Fort Wingate, New Mexico

1875 · Albumen silver print (gold-toned)

13 1/4 × 5 10/16" (33.3 × 25.0 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

San Francisco Mountains

1875 · Albumen silver print (gold-toned)

12 15/16 × 9 13/16" (32.8 × 24.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Ancient Ruins, Canyon De Chelly, Arizona

1873 · Albumen silver print (gold-toned)

9 7/8 × 13 1/4" (25.1 × 33.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Ruins of the Cliff Dwellings, Canyon de Chelley, Arizona

1873 · Albumen silver print (gold-toned)

13 1/4 × 9" (33.7 × 25.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

The Canyon Seen from the Foot of Toroweep Valley, Grand Canyon

1873 · Albumen silver print (gold-toned)

12 7/8 × 9 3/4" (32.8 × 25.0 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Ancient Ruins, Canyon De Chelly, Arizona, Mummy Cave, Canyon del Muerte, Arizona

1873 · Albumen silver print (gold-toned)

13 1/8 × 9 13/16" (33.4 × 25.0 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Ruins in Mummy Cave, Canon del Muerte, Arizona

1873 · Albumen silver print (gold-toned)

9 7/8 × 13 1/4" (25.2 × 33.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

The Three Patriarchs on the west side of Zion Canyon, Zion National Park, Utah

1873 · Albumen silver print (gold-toned)

9 3/4 × 12 7/8" (24.8 × 32.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Utah Ute Indian and Lady "Courting" in N.E. Utah, from the U.S. Topographical and Geological Survey of the Colorado River of the West

1871 · Albumen print, stereo

Each image: 11 × 7.7 cm (4 3/8 × 3 1/16 in.); Card: 11.1 × 17.6 cm (4 3/8 × 6 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Utah Ute Indian and Lady "Courting" in N.E. Utah, from the U.S. Topographical and Geological Survey of the Colorado River of the West

1871 · Albumen print, stereo

Each image: 11 × 7.7 cm (4 3/8 × 3 1/16 in.); Card: 11.1 × 17.6 cm (4 3/8 × 6 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled

Albumen silver print (gold-toned)

9 13/16 × 13 1/4" (25.0 × 33.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled

Albumen silver print (gold-toned)

9 7/8 × 13 1/4" (25.0 × 33.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

View all 20 artworks →

Artwork sources (5)

20 published of 31 catalogued · 31 with image

MoMA
10 publishedof 20 catalogued20 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
4 published4 img
Art Institute Chicago
4 published4 img
Rijksmuseum
2 published2 img
+ 1 more source · 1 catalogued, not yet published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 6)

6 entries · 1 sources

Pueblo of Wolpi
1876 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
North Pueblo of Taas
1876 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Ruins of Cliff Dwellings, Cañon de Chelly, Arizona
1879 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
East Fork, de Chelly River, Arizona
1879 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Ruins of Cliff Dwellings, Cañon de Chelly, Arizona
1879 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
East Fork, de Chelly River, Arizona
1879 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy

Utah Ute Indian and Lady "Courting" in N.E. Utah, from the U.S. Topographical and Geological Survey of the Colorado River of the West (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

Collections4

Museum of Modern Art Art Institute of Chicago Rijksmuseum Cleveland Museum of Art

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Rijksmuseum

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

Group Exhibition Self Portrait: The Photographer's Persona, 1840�1985

New York · 1985

Group Exhibition American Landscapes

New York · 1981

Group Exhibition Photography

New York · 1944

Group Exhibition Photographs of the Civil War and the American Frontier

New York · 1942