George Henry Hall

American (1825-1913)

George Henry Hall is widely recognized as one of the leading still life painters of his generation, and was very successful and well-respected by his peers in the 19th century. Born in Manchester, New Hampshire in 1825, Hall first visited Europe in 1849, visiting Paris and studying with Eastman Johnson in Dusseldorf. Upon his return to the United States, Hall settled in New York City, but still traveled frequently, often setting his paintings in Spain, Italy and Egypt. Hall was a member of the National Academy, and exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the Royal Academy, British Institute, Suffolk Street, Brooklyn Art Association, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Boston Art Club. His works are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Boston Museum of Fine Art and the Brooklyn Museum. Hall’s paintings emphasized the abundance of nature, and his still life subject matter was often set in natural surrounding, following his devotion to the aesthetic philosophy of John Ruskin, who championed a “simple love of our summer fruit and flower.”