Richard Hall (18 April 1860 – 23 June 1942) was a Finnish-born painter who made his career in France, United States and Argentina. Hall is best known of his portraits, but also painted other genres such as still life paintings, in particular, flower motifs, intimate and homely sceneries, and landscape.
Hall married his cousin Julia Berrigau Cornetz in 1881 and had two children. The family lived for six years in Bretagne, until Julia died in 1891. After his wife's death, Hall spent eight months in a Trappist order in Nantes. In the early 1900s, Hall spent summers in the Baltic island of Öland, where he met the baroness Anna von Mühlenfels, who became Hall's second wife in 1906.[1] In 1902, the American businessman William Kissam Vanderbilt invited Hall to New York City. He painted members of the Vanderbilt family and other representatives of New York's upper class.[1]
In 1903 and 1907, Hall had an exhibition at the Knoedler Gallery in New York, and in 1904 and 1905 in the Royal Academy in London.In his native Finland, Hall had his only exhibition in 1909 at the House of Nobility in Helsinki. However, Hall visited the country regularly to meet his parents.[1][4]
A Good Listener
In Argentina
In 1915, Hall emigrated to Argentina where he lived in Mar del Plata. In addition on his painting, Hall worked as an illustrator for Editorial Haynes, which published magazines and newspapers such as El Hogar[es] and El Mundo. Hall died in Buenos Aires in 1942 at the age of 82. He was buried in Mar del Plata.[5]
Hall's work is included in the collections of several museums in Sweden, France and Argentina. In his native country, Hall's works are included in the collections of the Finnish National Gallery, Pori Art Museum and Turku Art Museum.[3]
