William Hall

Artist Henry Bain Smith (Aberdeen, Scotland, 1857 - 1893)

Associated William Hall

Date1886

Mediummarble on art gallery base

ClassificationsSculptures

DimensionsOverall: Height: 67 cm, Width: 52 cm, Depth: 32 cm
Plinth Size: Height: 137 cm, Width: 51 cm, Depth: 51 cm

AcquisitionPresented in 1886 by subscribers.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationOn Display - Aberdeen Maritime Museum

Object numberABDAG004694

Keywords

Portrait

About MeThe sitter was the co-founder of Aberdeen shIpbuilders Hall Russell & Co. The firm made iron and steel ships, ranging from cargo vessels to warships and was founded in 1864. The firm was a partnership between James and William Hall, sons of Alexander; Thomas Russell, a Glasgow engineer, and John Cardno Couper of Sussex. Initially the company built engines and boilers but in 1868 produced its first ship, the iron steamer Kwang Tung.

Many fishing vessels and cargo steamers followed. As trawling took off in Aberdeen in the 1890s, the company built many of these vessels, including North Star, North Wind and North Breeze for William Pyper and Strathdon, Strathtay and Strathspey for the Aberdeen Steam Trawling and Fishing Company.

One of the company's first customers had been J T Rennie whose barque Umvoti was constructed in 1869. Over the years, Hall Russell built increasingly large cargo steamers for Rennie and Son. These included Ifafa of 1889(270 feet long) Insizwa of 1899(330 feet long) and Inanda of 1904 (370 feet long). This series culminated in the 386 feet long Intaba in 1910.

More About Me

Collections Wall

Hall co-founded Hall, Russell & Co, the Aberdeen shipbuilders whose output included fishing vessels, cargo boats and warships