John Hall (21 December 1739 – 1797) was a British engraver and painter. Hall was born in Wivenhoe, near Colchester, in 1739. He studied under the French immigrant engraver Simon François Ravenet. A fellow student was

William Wynne Ryland William Wynne Ryland (1732 or July 173829 August 1783) was an English engraver, who pioneered stipple engraving and was executed for forgery. Life and work Ryland was born in London, the eldest of seven sons of Edward Ryland (died 1771), an ...

, later executed for forgery. In 1756 and 1761, he won prizes from the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.John Hall, National Portrait Gallery
/ref> Hall was appointed a fellow of the Society of Artists in 1765, later serving as its director (an annual appointment requiring election). He was elected director in 1768, 1769 and 1771. In 1785 he was appointed historical engraver to George III, following the death of

William Woollett William Woollett (15 August 173523 May 1785) was an English engraver operating in the 18th century. Life Woolett was born in Maidstone, of a family which came originally from the Netherlands. He was apprenticed to John Tinney, an engraver i ...

. He engraved a number of portraits, including one of Richard Brinsley Sheridan painted by Joshua Reynolds. He also engraved the plates for ''Bell's British Theatre''. This included illustrations of scenes, created by Hall himself, and portraits of actors performing well-known roles. Hall created the earliest visual image of Hamlet holding Yorick's skull, with his 1773 engraving (after a design by Edward Edwards) in Bell's edition of Shakespeare's Plays. Hall was also a painter, though he was typically a copyist, working in a stiff old-fashioned style. A portrait of Hall by

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...

depicts him with his engraving of Benjamin West's painting ''

Penn's Treaty with the Indians ''The Treaty of Penn with the Indians'', sometimes known as ''Penn's Treaty with the Indians at Shackamaxon'' or more simply ''Penn's Treaty with the Indians'', is an oil painting by Benjamin West, completed in 1771–72. The painting depic ...

''. This was published by John Boydell in June 1775, with the image reversed, under the longer title ''William Penn's treaty with the Indians, when he founded the province of Pennsylvania in North America, 1681''.British Museum, William Penn's Treaty with the Indians, when he founded the province of Pennsylvania in North America 1681l
/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, John 1739 births 1797 deaths English engravers People from Wivenhoe