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 engraverSimon François Ravenet. A fellow student wasWilliam Wynne Ryland, later executed for forgery. In 1756 and 1761, he won prizes from the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.[1]
Hall was appointed a fellow of theSociety of Artists in 1765, later serving as its director (an annual appointment requiring election). He was elected director in 1768, 1769 and 1771.[1] In 1785 he was appointed historical engraver to George III, following the death ofWilliam Woollett.
He engraved a number of portraits, including one ofRichard Brinsley Sheridan painted by Joshua Reynolds. He also engraved the plates forBell's British Theatre. This included illustrations of scenes, created by Hall himself, and portraits of actors performing well-known roles.[1] Hall created the earliest visual image of Hamlet holding Yorick's skull, with his 1773 engraving (after a design byEdward Edwards) in Bell's edition of Shakespeare's Plays.[2]
Hall was also a painter, though he was typically a copyist, working in a stiff old-fashioned style.
A portrait of Hall byGilbert Stuart depicts him with his engraving ofBenjamin West's paintingPenn's Treaty with the Indians. This was published byJohn Boydell in June 1775, with the image reversed, under the longer titleWilliam Penn's treaty with the Indians, when he founded the province of Pennsylvania in North America, 1681.[3]
