Sydney Prior Hall MVO, MA (18 October 1842 – 15 December 1922) was a British

portrait painter Portrait painting is a Hierarchy of genres, genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commissio ...

and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

and one of the leading ''

reportage Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

'' artists of the later

Victorian period In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

. The son of animal portraitist Harry Hall, Sydney Hall was educated at Merchant Taylors' School. He decided on a career as an artist while at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and joined the staff of ''

The Graphic ''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company, Illustrated Newspapers Ltd with Thomas's brother, Lewis Samuel Thomas, as a co-founder. The Graphic was set up as ...

'', an illustrated newspaper, shortly after its foundation in late 1869. He immediately established his name with a series of vivid drawings made at the front during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

.Sydney Prior Hall (1842-1922), Portrait painter and illustrator
at www.npg.org.uk As stated in the contemporary publication ''

The Art Journal ''The Art Journal'' was the most important British 19th-century magazine on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title ''Art Union Monthly Journal'' (or ''The Art Union''), the first issue of 7 ...

'', his drawings of the

Parnell Commission The Parnell Commission, officially Special Commission on Parnellism and Crime, was a judicial inquiry in the late 1880s into allegations of crimes by Irish parliamentarian Charles Stewart Parnell which resulted in his vindication. Background On ...

were among his finest achievements in the medium of graphic journalism: "he was in court the whole time, busy with a swift revealing pencil which missed no turn of affairs." He illustrated a number of books including ''

Tom Brown's School Days ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is a novel by Thomas Hughes, published in 1 ...

'' (MacMillan, 1885), and '' Tom Brown at Oxford'' by

Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 1822 – 22 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had atte ...

. Hall married Emma Holland (1846/7–1894), in 1877; the couple had already produced a son, Henry R. H. Hall (1873–1930), who became assistant keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. Following the death of his first wife, Hall married the painter Mary Gow (1851–1929), in 1907. Hall died at his home in London on 15 December 1922.Pottle, ''ODNB''.

Gallery

File:Leopard-baiting.jpg, Escaped Leopard Battles with Dogs at

Raglan Castle Raglan Castle () is a Late Middle Ages, late medieval castle located just north of the village of Raglan, Monmouthshire, Raglan in the county of Monmouthshire in south east Wales. The modern castle dates from between the 15th and early 17th cent ...

, circa 1875, by Sydney P. Hall File:CollapseOfTemple.jpg, Painting depicting

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

Frederick Temple Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and Clergy, churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early ...

's collapse in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

while delivering a speech on the Education Bill, on 2 December 1902. File:The three daughters of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra by Sydney Prior Hall.jpg, ''The three daughters of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra'', 1883 File:Joseph ('Joe') Chamberlain; Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour by Sydney Prior Hall.jpg, '' Joseph Chamberlain and Arthur Balfour'', 1895 File:Group including Charles Stewart Parnell and H. Campbell by Sydney Prior Hall.jpg, A sketch from the Parnell Commission, 1889 File:Thomas Miller Beach, John Patrick Murphy, Sir Henry James and Sir Charles Russell by Sydney Prior Hall.jpg, A sketch from the Parnell Commission, 1889

References

External links

''Sketches from an Artist's Portfolio''
Sydney P. Hall, 1875.
Four paintings by Sir Sydney Hall
in the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Some sketches by Sir Sydney Hall
(part of a collection of 146 held by the

National Portrait Gallery (London) The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

which were donated in 1929 by the artist's son, Harry Reginald Holland Hall)
Drawings of Canada in 1881 by Sydney Hall
(Hall was a member of the press party which accompanied the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...

, Sir John Douglas Campbell, on a much-publicised tour to promote the agricultural potential of western Canada).
Portrait of the three daughters of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra by Sydney Prior Hall
(oil on canvas, 1883, National Portrait Gallery, London)
Pencil drawing of William Ewart Gladstone by Sydney Prior Hall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Sydney Prior 1842 births 1922 deaths 19th-century British painters British male painters 20th-century British painters British draughtsmen British illustrators British children's book illustrators 19th-century British war artists People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood 19th-century British male artists 20th-century British male artists