December
Hall first gained recognition as an artist working in Newlyn, Cornwall from 1883-98. There he adopted the plein-air principles of working outdoors and the square brush technique associated with the painters of the Newlyn School in their response to French Impressionism. Throughout the 1890s Hall concentrated on landscape and pastoral subjects. His use of warm, atmospheric colour and the relationship between figure and setting drew close comparisons at that time with the work of painters such as Clausen (1852-1944), also represented at the Ferens. The theme of December symbolises the wane of life through the figure of the old man. Snow on the ground also indicates the end of the year.
