Collector Robert Hill shows off eclectic pieces and a great view at Trimont condo
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View of Downtown Pittsburgh from the living room in Robert Hill's Trimont condo. -
A painting by Jack White in Robert Hill's Trimont condo. -
Living room in Robert Hill's Trimont condo. -
Master bedroom in Robert Hill's Trimont condo. -
View of Downtown Pittsburgh from the living room in Robert Hill's Trimont condo. -
An ink drawing of Herbert T. Williams by Benny Andrews in Robert Hill's Trimont condo. -
A painting by Jack White in Robert Hill's Trimont condo. -
A painting by Jack White in Robert Hill's Trimont condo. -
A painting by Jack White in Robert Hill's Trimont condo. -
A painting by Jack White in Robert Hill's Trimont condo. -
Robert Hill's collection of African masks in his Trimont condo. -
Master bath in Robert Hill's Trimont condo. -
Living room in Robert Hill's Trimont condo. -
Bed with a basketball theme in a bedroom with sports memorabilia in Robert Hill's Trimont condo.
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"I never coveted it," Robert Hill says twice in conversation, referring to things he nonetheless owns.
"Covet" is not a word you hear often (unless one happens to be reciting the 10 commandments). But by the time you're done touring his fourth-floor condominium in Trimont Plaza, you find yourself coveting some of Mr. Hill's stuff, his space and most of all, his view of Downtown Pittsburgh from Mount Washington.
One of the things Mr. Hill didn't covet was his current home. He lived happily for 10 years on the eighth floor of Grandview Pointe, an adjacent apartment building. Then, in April 2009, he decided to check out this unit in the Trimont.
"The other view was higher, more of a panorama," he said. "From this one, you can see people walking and can almost touch them."
Mr. Hill, vice chancellor for public affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, can't really touch people passing below on Grandview Avenue, but the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers are practically at his fingertips, and the West End Bridge looks like a next-door neighbor. A large brass telescope offers close-up views of Downtown from the living room, but wouldn't you rather see the big picture?
"I like daybreak best," Mr. Hill says.
His home's inner views are almost as striking. Seventeen ceramic pieces by David MacDonald hold a place of honor on a ledge in front of the wall of windows, and paintings by abstract expressionist Jack White of Austin, Texas, dot the walls of the 26- by 19-foot living room. More of the two men's work can be found at Mr. Hill's vacation home in Syracuse, N.Y. Both artists were faculty members at Syracuse University during the time Mr. Hill worked there, from 1977 to '98.
He met them through the man he calls his "art mentor," the late Herbert T. Williams, a professor of African American studies and studio arts at Syracuse and founder of the Community Folk Art Center there. "Herb," an ink-on-paper drawing of him by Benny Andrews, hangs alone on one wall in Mr. Hill's dining room
First Published January 1, 2011 12:00 am
