1
William Wake
Hand-painted oil reproduction from $181 28 × 35 cm
Same size as the original $529 100 × 125 cm Order at original size →
Thomas Hill's most famous painting is William Wake (1725), in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Our catalogue lists 1 works by Thomas Hill; the 1 below are the ones the world looks at most, each with its year, the museum that holds it and why it matters.
Ranked by our popularity score, which combines the searches, visits and orders for each work. Updated October 2026. Every masterpiece on this page can be ordered as a museum-quality, hand-painted oil reproduction or a fine art print, at the size you choose.
The museum that holds the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Thomas Hill | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 National Portrait Gallery |
London | 1 | William Wake |
All of Thomas Hill's dated works on this page come from 1725: here are the most famous of them.
William Wake (1725).
64 years old: William Wake dates from 1725 and Thomas Hill was born in 1661.
Our catalogue lists 1 works by Thomas Hill.
Most of them are in National Portrait Gallery (London). The table above lists the museums one by one.
Yes. Every painting on this page can be ordered as a museum-quality, hand-painted oil reproduction or a fine art print, in the size you choose, from the painting's own page.
Thomas Hill operated within the rigid social hierarchies of the early eighteenth century, a period where a painter's value was measured by the status of their sitters. Born in 1661 in the Kingdom of England, Hill did not rely on abstract inspiration but on the disciplined training of the era. He began his career by learning the fundamentals of drawing from the engraver William Faithorne the elder. This technical foundation allowed him to navigate the competitive London art scene, where he worked as a professional portrait painter from approximately 1694 onwards. His ability to capture likeness was not merely a matter of talent but a product of rigorous instruction under the Dutch history painter Dirk Freres.
His career was defined by a steady demand for his services among the English elite and clergy. He was not a painter of landscapes or grand allegories, but a specialist in the human face and the social standing it conveyed. His work often transitioned from the canvas to the print, ensuring his likenesses reached a wider audience through the medium of mezzotint. This intersection of painting and engraving helped cement his presence in the visual record of the age.
Hill’s development as an artist was marked by a transition from the structural discipline of drawing to the nuanced application of oil on canvas. His output was characterized by a specific focus on the ecclesiastical and aristocratic circles of his time. The following subjects represent the breadth of his professional engagements:
The technical execution of his work often involved a soft, ornamental approach, particularly evident in his depictions of younger subjects. While some of his portraits were executed in oil on canvas, others were translated into mezzotints by engravers like John Smith. This process required a high degree of accuracy in his original compositions to ensure the engraver could replicate the tonal shifts of his brushwork.
The survival of Hill's work in collections like the National Portrait Gallery in London confirms his role in documenting the faces of the British establishment. His portrait of William Wake, dating to approximately 1725, remains a primary example of his ability to satisfy the requirements of his patrons. He did not seek to reinvent the genre but to master it, providing the visual evidence required by a society obsessed with lineage and position. He died at Mitcham in 1734, leaving behind a body of work that serves as a direct window into the social fabric of the early 1700s.