William Weeks Hall[1] (1894–1958), was an American artist, photographer and art critic.[1] He was the last individual owner of the Shadows-on-the-Teche, a historic house and former sugar cane plantation.
William Weeks Hall | |
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Born | (1895-10-31)October 31, 1895 Orleans Parish, Louisiana, U.S. |
Died | June 27, 1958(1958-06-27) (aged 63) Louisiana, U.S. |
Education | Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts |
Parents |
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William Weeks Hall was born in October 31, 1894 in Orleans Parish; to parents Gilbert Lewis Hall and Mary "Lily" Weeks.[1][2] His maternal grandparents David and Mary Conrad Weeks had built the Shadows-on-the-Teche plantation in 1834.
Hall attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA).[3] Around 1917, Hall won a scholarship through PAFA to travel to Europe.[4] His early paintings were abstract.[3] He lived in Paris for a few years after college.[3] During World War I (1914–1918), Hall served in the Office of Naval Intelligence.[3]
In 1920, Hall returned to New Iberia and in 1922 he started to restore the Shadows-on-the-Teche.[3][5] He had many notable guests and friends in the arts that would come visit him in New Iberia including D. W. Griffith,[6] Henry Miller,[7][8] Cecil B. DeMille,[8] among others. A New Iberian local musician Al E. Dieudonne dedicated his song, "Shadows-on-the-Teche" to Hall in 1930.[9]
In 1927, Hall was a charter member of the New Orleans Art League.[10] He injured his arm in 1937, and was forced to give up painting, and around this time he started to focus more on photography.[3]
Hall died on June 27, 1958, and was initially buried at the Rose Hill Cemetery.[3] In 1961, his body was moved to the family plot at Shadows-on-the-Teche cemetery.[3] He never married.[1] Hall left the Shadows-on-the-Teche to the National Trust for Historic Preservation after his death.[11]
Hall's art work is including in public museum collections at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.[12] In Henry Miller's book, The Air-Conditioned Nightmare (1945), includes information about his time in New Iberia and Hall is quoted (page 97).[13]
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