Portrait of an unknown woman
Photographer
William James Hall
(Australian, 1877 - 1951)
Date1900s - 1930s
Object number00012778
NameGlass plate negative
MediumEmulsion on glass
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Transfer from the Mitchell Library
DescriptionStudio portrait of a unknown woman wearing a ribboned hat and patterened dress.
Negative ID no. 945.HistoryThis image of an unidentified woman was taken in the photography studio of William Frederick Hall and his son William James Hall. William Hall (senior) established the studio in Sydney in 1890 and the family business was a well-known establishment in Sydney for many decades.
Both Hall men were also keen on sailing, although it is said that neither were sailors but enjoyed photographing the regular and numerous races on Sydney Harbour each weekend. Each Monday, Hall would display photographs of weekend races on Sydney Harbour in the window of his studio at 20 Hunter Street.
A diverse business, in addition to studio portraits and sailing shots, Hall also were known for their aerial, landscape, portraiture, city and rural photography.
William F Hall and William J Hall established a number of photographic studios. Known at different times as Hall studio, Hall & Co, W F Hall and Hall W the businesses were located variously at 7 Castlereagh Street, 39, 44 and 70 Hunter Street, 91 Phillip Street and 21 Blight Street in Sydney city from 1890 onwards.
SignificanceThe Hall collection provides an important pictorial record of recreational boating in Sydney Harbour, from the 1890s to the 1930s – from large racing and cruising yachts, to the many and varied skiffs jostling on the harbour, to the new phenomenon of motor boating in the early twentieth century . The collection also includes images of the many spectators and crowds who followed the sailing races.
