In the Footsteps of painter Richard Hall

  Source: Hall Richard Pintor [1930s-1960s], British Library   Richard Hall traveled to South America in 1914. His destination was Uruguay, where he painted portraits. That same year, World War I broke out in Europe. In 1915, he moved to Argentina, where he lived until his death in 1942. He continued his active career as an artist, painting portraits and still lifes, as well as working as an illustrator. In 1914, he married Luciana Maria Magdalena Chobard (January 21, 1896 - July 4, 1980). They had five children named Irene, Enrique, Magdalena, Juanita, and Isabel. While living in Argentina, Hall obtained citizenship. Information about Hall's life in Argentina has been preserved in the digitized archive Hall Richard Pintor [1930s-1960s] published by the British Library, which contains newspaper clippings, photographs, images of his works, and a few letters. Unfortunately, some of the information in the materials is incomplete and inaccurate. The Spanish-language blog Fotos Vi...

Richard Hall in his Paris studio. Undated photograph Source:  Hall Richard Pintor [1930s–1960s], British Library I’ve previously reviewed Richard Hall’s earlier residences in France in the blog post Places of residence 1883–1900 . In 1900, Hall returned permanently from Brittany, and his address was solely in Paris at Avenue Victor-Hugo 43. Once again, I’ve consulted the Musée d’Orsay’s database on the Paris Salons , which lists the artist’s addresses up to 1914. That year also marks the final exhibition for which digitized Salon records are available online. Breakthrough in Paris Hall’s career as a portrait painter took off in May 1901, when he held an exhibition at Galerie Georges Petit in Paris. The show, which featured portraits among other works, received extensive coverage in the French press and attracted a large audience. Following this exhibition, Hall became a sought-after portraitist. It appears that after 1901, he painted portraits during all his travels—which were num...

Moines trappistes; abbaye de Melleray (Loire-Inférieure) Trappist monks Exhibited at the Salon in 1897 Photo: Salon catalogue 1897  Many aspects of Richard Hall's life in the 1890s remain unclear. He reported that he married his cousin Julia Perregaux (in an article written by Mauri R. Hall, her surname is Cornetz) in 1881. She passed away in 1891. The marriage produced son Georges and daughter Agnes. According to the website geni.com they were both born in 1884. As I mentioned in my  blog post about Hall's places of residence, his address was in Le Pouldu in 1890–1893, in Paris in 1894–1896, and in both Nantes and Paris in 1897–1899. I am currently aware of 27 works that Hall produced during those years. Not all of them have photographs. After Hall moved back to Paris, his works were mainly portraits. It was probably then that the development began that led to his successful career as a portrait painter in the following decade. Working in the abbey In an interview with the ...

Edward Hall, visiting card, undated Photo: Valokuvaamo (photographic studio) John Englund Source: Satakunta Museum Brother Edward Hall Richard Hall's older brother Edward was born on August 31, 1857, in Helsinki. According to church records, the family moved to Pori on December 19, 1859. From there, they moved to Helsinki in 1864 and possibly to London in 1867. The Hall family then moved to Stockholm around 1875. I discuss these times in more detail in my blog post about Richard Hall’s childhood . I have no information about where Edward Hall studied for his profession. Career In the 1880s, Edward Hall worked in Joensuu for Gustaf Cederberg & Co, a company that owned sawmills. From there, he moved to Noormarkku in the early 1890s to work for A. Ahlström Oy. Maarit Grahn's doctoral thesis, Family Business and Localism: Family Business and Locality: The historical heritage of A. Ahlström Corporation in Noormarkku (University of Turku, 2014), reveals Edward Hall's role dur...

  Richard Hall: Alexandrine Zélie Hall, 1910 Pencil on paper, Private collection Photo: Anni Saisto Photo added September 14, 2025  Mother Alexandrine Zélie Hall  If Richard Hall's father had a fascinating life story, the same can be said of his mother. Alexandrine Zélie Hall, née Cornetz, was born in Switzerland – how did she end up in Finland? The answer remains unclear for now, but here is what I have found out about her so far. From Switzerland to Finland According to her parish records, Alexandrine Hall was born in Neuchâtel on February 12, 1834. More precisely, she was probably from a place called Cortaillod, right next to Neuchâtel. This is stated in her obituaries, which were published in several newspapers 86 years later. The records of the Swedish-Finnish parish of Helsinki indicate that she originally used the name Zelie Alexandrine Cornetz. The church records also include the following note: "Moved from the Pohja parish on October 27, 1856, according to the t...

Huber's house at the corner of Yrjönkatu and Hallituskatu in Pori, Finland, photographed in 1898.  Photo: Edward Hall, Satakunta Museum The Hall family moved several times during Richard Hall's childhood. The key sources for this post are parish records and an interview Richard Hall gave to the New Suometar newspaper in 1909 apparently in Finnish. In the interview, he also spoke about his childhood years.  The most accurate information about the dates of the family's moves is available from parish registers, which record the dates of the moves. The parish registers are regional, so in this case I have requested the certificates from two parishes. The registers are heavily used by genealogists, and there is a charge for the certificates. EU privacy regulation GDPR does not apply to deceased persons. Early childhood in Pori Richard's older brother Edward was born on 31 August 1857, and the family moved to Pori on 19 December 1859. Richard was born five months later on 1...

  Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, model school in 1874. Engraving by H. Peterson in the Ny Illustrerad Tidning. Studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Richard Hall was admitted to the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts at the age of 15 in 1875. He studied there for six years, graduating in 1881. Hall's fellow students included artists who went on to have distinguished careers, such as Anders Zorn and Richard Bergh . In the mid-1880s, many of them were part of the Opponenterna group, which rose up against what it perceived as old-fashioned teaching at the academy. So far I have found a few records of Hall's time as a student: firstly, he mentions it in the personal interview I quoted earlier in the Uusi Suometar newspaper of 24. October 1909 . The 1902 edition of Nornan: Svensk kalender contains a chapter by Georg Nordensvan on the students of the Art Academy drawn by Anders Zorn.   Teaching at the Academy of Arts The Swedish Academy of Fine Arts has its roots in the Royal Academ...

How did Richard Hall's English father and Swiss-French mother come to live in Finland in the 19th century? Depending on the source, the details vary, but in any case, the story must begin with Hall's grandfather John Hall of Tredennick. The most comprehensive information about Richard Hall's family roots can be found in an article published in Finnish newspaper Satakunnan Kansa on 12 September 1937, written while the artist was still alive. The article was written under the pseudonym Arctoterrannus. The information in this post is based on that article unless otherwise stated. Grandfather John Hall of Tredennick The personal history of Grandfather Hall is described in the Finnish blog Kadonnutta aikaa (Lost Time). John Hall was born on 6 May 1785 in London and his family owned the Tredneck estate in Middlesex County, England. At some point in his life John Halll moved to St Petersburg, and later from there to Finland. According to geni.com , he had eight children in total...

 Clues from the past The story of painter Richard Hall (1860-1942) came up six years ago in a newspaper article in the archives of the Pori Art Museum where I worked. The article had appeared in a Finnish newspaper Satakunnan Kansa in 1975. In it, Mauri R. Hall, the grandson of the artist's brother, recounted the life of this artist who had been forgotten in the mists of history. At the time, I researched Hall's life story on the Internet and wrote an article about him for the Finnish Wikipedia.   Richard Hall: La classe manuelle. École de petites filles (Finistère), 1889 Musée des beaux-Arts de Rennes A variable life Richard Hall's life turned out to be quite interesting: his father was British, his mother Swiss-French. Born in Pori, Finland, Hall's family moved to Helsinki in the 1960s, then to London and Stockholm. Richard Hall studied at the Stockholm Academy of Fine Arts. In 1881, aged only 21, he won a history painting competition organised by the Swedish A...