George Henry Hall was one of the most respected and most successful still life painters of the 19th century. He was known for sensual, expressive paintings and his mastery of both the tabletop and the natural still life setting. Hall was born in 1825 in Manchester, New Hampshire, although his family moved to Boston at a young age. Hall studied in Düsseldorf, Germany, as well as in Paris and Rome. He eventually returned to the states, in 1852, and settled down in New York City.

Associated with the Pre-Raphaelites and the Ruskinian tradition of painting still-lifes in natural settings, Hall distinguished himself through his usage of a rich, dark color palette and a highly polished finish. Hall described his interest in still life as “being driven by his interest in color,” and indeed, his still lifes are captivating for their play with light and shadow and for the interesting visual effects caused by such exploration. Incredibly successful in his lifetime, Hall exhibited at numerous institutions, including the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Royal Academy, the National Academy of Design, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Hall’s Water Lilies, painted in 1881, is a lush depiction of three water lilies floating atop a highly reflective, dark green-brown pond. Water lilies are described by 19th century art writer Cecilia Waern as being “preeminently the flower of the mystic.” In Hall’s Water Lilies, Waern’s narrative holds true: the lilies, in their half-opened state, are in a condition of flux and as such are mysterious, full of potential. The strong, downward shining light source dramatizes the lilies, contributing to their mystical sense. The illumination of the frontal petals of the water lilies, which are rendered by Hall so that each petal appears almost as an elongated pearl, contrasts heavily with the deep shadow cast on the rear of the flowers. Both the lushness of the illuminated petals and the depth of the shadowed petals contribute to the sensuousness, and even “sensual desire” of the image, a quality which Hall regularly “flirted with.”

A small work, Water Lilies is an intimate picture, ripe with Hall’s strong understanding of light, shadow, and color and the “expressive power” offered to his subject and composition as such. The natural setting, in which each and every detail is visible, provides uninterrupted access to the scene in a way that contemporary tabletop still lifes could not provide. A classic George Henry Hall painting–– at once brilliantly luminous and profoundly dark–– Water Lilies is a beautiful example of the artist at his best and most individual.