Kenneth Hall (artist)
Charles Kenneth Hall, known as Kenneth Hall, was a British artist, painter, drafter and designer known for co-founding the Irish The White Stag art group with Basil Rákóczi.
Early life and education
Charles Kenneth Hall was born in Lewisham, London on 15 April 1913 to Arthur Henry Hall CB CBE and Maud Henrietta Hall. Hall's father was an assistant mechanical engineer at the Royal Arsenal and later became the Chief Superintendent at Royal Aircraft Establishment. Hall's mother was Irish and was born in Cork.From 1927–1931, Hall attended Lancing College. In 1931, Hall moved to London and studied furniture design at an interior design firm. Whilst studying Hall began drawing and painting in his spare time.
Career
In 1934, Hall showed his portfolio to the collector, patron and gallerist Lucy Wertheim. Wertheim exhibited Hall's work at the Wertheim Gallery a few months later, marking his exhibiting debut.In July 1935, Hall meet Rákóczi at a meeting for the Society for Creative Psychology. The same year Hall and Rákóczi founded The White Stag Group with the aim of promoting the advancement of subjectivity in psychological analysis and art.
From 1935 to 1938 Hall and Rakozci travelled Europe and acquainted themselves with the various movements of the time including Surrealism. At the outbreak of World War II the pair moved to Ireland to try to avoid the conflict that was consuming Europe. They stopped first in Galway where they did much good work before heading to Dublin, where The White Stag group began to really take off. Hall organised the group's first exhibition held in April 1940, and it was received well, with praise from the Irish Times.
In 1945 he returned to London and had an exhibition at Redfern Gallery, before moving to Wertheim's flat in Marylebone, London whilst she was in Manchester.
Style
Hall received some art lessons from Juan Stoll, an architect, designer and fellow member of The White Stag Group, but was largely self-taught. Hall painted in an Expressionist style and was influenced by the works of Christopher Wood, Alfred Wallis, Paul Klee and Patrick Scott.Personal life
Despite the success of the exhibition and the growing depth and influence of the group in Dublin, as well as support from Wertheim in London, Hall was always racked by personal demons, and people found him hard to connect with. His personal relationship with Rakoczi it has been suggested was also part of the problem. According to Irish art critic Bruce Arnold, "No one understood anything about Kenneth Hall… He was depressive, he was gay, he had this love affair with Basil, who was bisexual and very active emotionally and sexually. Kenneth Hall couldn’t take that.”On 26 July 1946 Hall died by suicide in Wertheim's Marylebone flat, aged 33.