George Henry Hall (1825–1913) was an American still-life and landscape artist. He studied art in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and he worked and lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the

Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

of New York and in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. His works are in museum collections in the United States and Europe. Over the course of his career he sold 1,659 paintings.

Early life

George Henry Hall was born on September 21, 1825 in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire.David Bernard Dearinger.
Paintings and Sculpture in the Collection of the National Academy of Design: 1826–1925
'. Hudson Hills; 2004. . p. 246. His father was a successful lumber dealer and his ancestors had come to the United States in the early 18th century from Ireland. Gerald M. Ackerman.
American Orientalists
'. www.acr-edition.com; 1994. . p. 106. Hall attended public schools and studied art from 16 years of age. He joined a Boston art association, since there was no art school there, and met with its members in their studios to share critiques and encouragement. He also sent some of his works to New York's Art Union, where they were sold. Hall went to Europe with

Eastman Johnson Jonathan Eastman Johnson (July 29, 1824 – April 5, 1906) was an American painter and co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, with his name inscribed at its entrance. He was best known for his genre paintings, paintings of ...

to study in 1849, funded by the sale of genre scenes and portraits. They studied at the Düsseldorf Academy, which had a good reputation for the genre painters it produced. They studied drawing, proportion and anatomy. Hall was there for more than one year. He then went to France and studied in Paris for a year, visited Switzerland, and was in Italy for a year, where he had a studio in Rome. Over the course of his life, Hall was based in the state of New York, but took international trips. For instance, in the 1870s he traveled to Palestine, Egypt and Spain. Hall had many friends from the

Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. The paintings typically depict the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area ...

Career

Hall opened a studio in New York City in 1852. Hall's paintings, inspired by the British Pre-Raphaelite movement, often depicted still lifes, scenes from the Mediterranean countries or everyday life. The Smithsonian deems him to be "one of the most well-respected still-life painters in America," whose work was popular throughout his lifetime. Mid 19th century still life paintings became popular, and several artists created "opulent botanical arrangements in which the beauty and succulence of each flower or fruit replaced the earlier emphasis on compositional structure." Hall, Paul Lacroix, Severin Roesen and John F. Francis created such paintings. His work was shown at the National Academy of Art first in 1853. His works included historic scenes, genre paintings and still lives. Hall's works were shown in a solo exhibition at Goupil and Company in New York City in 1856. At that time it was rare for an artist to have a solo show, "Mr. G.H. Hall was given a public exhibition of his works at Messrs. Goupil & Co.'s store, which mode of exhibiting an artist's productions is entitled to some considerations. We think it has many advantages. The artist can choose his own place and light, and his works can be seen much more satisfactorily, than when placed in the midst of others." Hall — along with

Calvert Vaux Calvert Vaux (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American architect and landscape designer, best known as the co-designer, along with his protégé and junior partner Frederick Law Olmsted, of what would become New York Ci ...

Frederic Edwin Church Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for painting large landscapes, ...

Jervis McEntee Jervis McEntee (July 14, 1828 – January 27, 1891) was an American painter of the Hudson River School. He is a somewhat lesser-known figure of the 19th-century American art world, but was the close friend and traveling companion of several of ...

and

Sanford Robinson Gifford Sanford Robinson Gifford (July 10, 1823 – August 29, 1880) was an American landscape painter and a leading member of the second generation of Hudson River School artists. A highly-regarded practitioner of Luminism, his work was noted for its ...

— were friends and members of the Century Association in New York City, where they sang, laughed, drank and smoked. They hoped that proficient artists would be valued as keenly as successful men of business. Vaux had owned one of Hall's paintings. Eleven people were killed on July 4, 1857 in the

Dead Rabbits Riot The Dead Rabbits riot was a two-day civil disturbance in New York City evolving from what was originally a small-scale street fight between members of the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys into a citywide gang war, which occurred July 4–5, 1 ...

, a battle between the Bowery Boys and a gang called the Dead Rabbits in Manhattan's worst slums located on the Lower East Side of the city. Hall made a picture, ''A Dead Rabbit'' (''Study of the Nude,'' or ''Study of an Irishman''), depicting a bare-chested man leaning up against a stone wall and clenching a brick in his right hand.David Bernard Dearinger.
Paintings and Sculpture in the Collection of the National Academy of Design: 1826–1925
'. Hudson Hills; 2004. . p. 247. His still lifes were shown in 1860 at the academy and early in that decade at

Seville, Spain Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. By 1868 he was making genre paintings and did not return to still lifes in great number until the 1880s. He lived in Paris, Rome and Düsseldorf for 23 years and traveled to Spain and Italy, and made popular paintings of peasants there. He made one for his friend

William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the ''New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry ...

of a gypsy girl that was one of the most recognized paintings. By 1874 he had a studio in New York in the

Tenth Street Studio Building The Tenth Street Studio Building, constructed in New York City in 1857, was the first modern facility designed solely to serve the needs of artists. It became the center of the New York art world for the remainder of the 19th century. Situated at ...

, working from that studio for many years. The

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

in New York was a favored place to live and work for many 19th century artists, particularly landscape artists. In

Kaaterskill Clove Kaaterskill Clove is a deep gorge, or valley, in New York's eastern Catskill Mountains, lying just west of the village of Palenville and in Haines Falls. The clove was formed by Kaaterskill Creek, a tributary of Catskill Creek rising west o ...

in Palenville, Hall built a home and studio near La Belle Falls by 1893 when his photo was taken there by Lionel De Lisser. Artists Grotto there is believed to have been named for Hall. He had an art studio in Rome during many winters. It was there that Hall met artist

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe Jennie Augusta Brownscombe (December 10, 1850 – August 5, 1936) was an American painter, designer, etcher, commercial artist and illustrator. Brownscombe studied art for years in the United States and in Paris. She was a founding member, studen ...

; They became companions and he was her mentor. Between 1885 and 1896 they spent the winters in Rome. In the summers they shared a studio in Palenville in the New York Catskill Mountains from about 1908 until Hall died in 1913.Jennie Augusta Brownscombe.
National Museum of Women in the Arts. Retrieved February 9, 2014.Jennie Augusta Brownscombe.
CLARA Database of Women Artists. National Museum of Women in the Arts. Retrieved February 9, 2014. The

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

has a life-size painting that he made of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. His work was shown at the American Art Union, Brooklyn Art Association and Boston Athenaeum. He was a member of the Union League Club and the National Academy of Design, although he resigned from the Academy in 1855 in opposition to the practice of bringing on new members but not giving them a voice in the running of the institution. Eight years later he was brought back into the Academy. At his death was one of its oldest members. He sold more than 1,569 of his paintings throughout his career.

Death

Hall died in 1913 in New York, New York. When he died, Hall left his home and property in the Catskills to Brownscombe, including the painting ''Danaë and the Golden Shower'' by

John Smibert John Smibert (rarely spelled Smybert; ; 24 March 1688 – 2 April 1751) was a Scottish-born painter, regarded as the first academically trained artist to live and work regularly in British America. Career Born in Edinburgh on 24 March 1688, Smi ...

. Its location was unknown as of 1969. By 1912 she had donated a self-portrait made by George Henry Hall and a watercolor painting made by Hall of a Pompeiian fresco, to the Brooklyn Museum of Art. She also donated a George Henry Hall sketchbook to the museum.

Collections

His works are in the following collections: *

Brooklyn Museum of Art The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

St. Johnsbury Athenaeum The St. Johnsbury Athenaeum (often written ''St. Johnsbury Athenæum'') is a combined library and art gallery, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. The building in which it is housed is architecturally and historically significant because of its construction ...

, St. Johnsbury, Vermont *

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, New York, New York *

''An Ideal Portrait of William Shakespeare (1564–1616)'', George Henry Hall
Your Paintings. ''BBC.'' Retrieved February 14, 2014. *

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

''Miranda'' by George Henry Hall

. Retrieved February 14, 2014.

Gallery

File:Sir Toby Belch (Hall, 1854).jpg, ''Sir Toby Belch'', 1854,

Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare material ...

File:Malvolio confronting the revelers (Hall, 1855).jpg, ''Malvolio confronting the revelers'', 1855, Folger Shakespeare Library File:George Henry Hall - Miranda - 1856 - Smithsonian American Art Museum.jpg, ''Miranda'', 1856, Smithsonian American Art Museum File:George Henry Hall - A Dead Rabbit - 1858.jpg, ''A Dead Rabbit'', 1858. Also entitled ''Study of the Nude,'' or ''Study of an Irishman'', it depicts a man meant to represent one of the

Dead Rabbits The Dead Rabbits was the name of an Irish American criminal street gang active in Lower Manhattan in the 1830s to 1850s. The Dead Rabbits were so named after a dead rabbit was thrown into the center of the room during a gang meeting, prompting s ...

gang members from the

of July 4, 1857 in New York City's Lower East Side slums File:George Henry Hall - Peaches, Grapes and Cherries - Brooklyn Museum of Art.jpg, ''Peaches, Grapes and Cherries,'' c. 1860-1870, Brooklyn Museum of Art File:Shakespeare composing while looking outward (Hall, 1894).jpg, ''Shakespeare composing while looking outward'', 1894

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, George Henry 1825 births 1913 deaths 19th-century American painters 20th-century American painters American male painters Painters from New York City Artists from Boston Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni National Academy of Design members Orientalist painters People from Manchester, New Hampshire 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists