In the words of French Impressionist
painter Edgar Degas, “Art is not what
you see, it’s what you make others see.”
Art philanthropist Andy Hall exemplifies
this philosophy through his work with
the Hall Art Foundation, an organization
that he founded in 2007 with the aim of
showcasing thoughtfully-curated
collections of contemporary art to the
greater public. After spending decades
developing and refining his personal art
collection with his wife Christine, Hall
made the decision that he wanted to do
more than just collect—he wanted to give
back to the global arts community.
The Halls purchased unique historical
properties in Germany and Vermont and
subsequently restored them, converting
them into stunning exhibition venues. They
created elegant spaces where people of all
levels of artistic awareness could come to
enjoy eclectic and compelling
collections of contemporary art. Through
their extensive art lending program, the
Hall Art Foundation also collaborates with
other renowned international museums,
galleries, and exhibition spaces, building
bridges of cross-cultural connections that
make it possible for valuable and
culturally-significant artwork to reach a
wider audience.
We at VERMONT Magazine had the
privilege of speaking with Andy Hall about
the origins of the Hall Art Foundation, the
future of the art industry, and the power
that art has to influence world culture
and shape public perspective in times of
change and uncertainty.
Q: How did you get involved with art? Are
you an artist yourself?
A: When I was in grammar school in
England, I did some “studio art”. I had
an interest there. I went to museums and
that stayed with me. But it was in my late
twenties that I had an epiphany when I was
living in Paris. Someone pointed out to me
that you could actually buy art for yourself.
It might sound improbable, but that was a
novel idea to me. I honestly thought that
art was something that you just saw in
museums. It was then that I started
collecting art in a modest way.
Q: What was the first piece of art that you
purchased?
A: It was a painting by a French-Hungarian
artist named Paul Kallos.
Q: How did you discover Kallos’ work?
A: I was introduced to him by a mutual
friend who happened to be my French
teacher at Berlitz. He was meant to be
teaching me business French, but he had
little interest in business. He was, however,
very interested in art— and in our French
lessons, we often ended up talking about
art. He introduced me to Paul, and we
went to his studio several times. I ended
up buying some of his works.
Q: What was it that attracted you to his
work?
A: He had been operating at the
borderline of representation and abstraction,
and that interface has always interested
me. Where do you define the boundary
between one and the other? So that was
part of the appeal. His work had also
evolved radically over the course of his
career. He started out using oils but had
shifted to acrylics, with a much lighter and
more ethereal touch. It was a real evolution
and transformation in his work. It always
fascinates me when an artist doesn’t get
stuck on a single style, medium, or idea.
Q: Around what time period was this that
you started collecting?
A: This was in the late 1970s. I was in my
late twenties. Soon after, I got married,
and Christine and I came to America. I was
very focused on my career at the time. I
can’t say that art was a major passion at
that point, but it remained an interest.
Once I had achieved some professional
success, we started acquiring art to
decorate our home. We bought works by
fairly well-known artists. It was opportunistic
and random. It wasn’t an obsessive
“collecting bug” at that point. It tended to
be according to how “well-off” I was
feeling. We acquired some interesting
works, quite a few of which we still live
with. One of the first significant works we
bought was a Joan Mitchell painting. It
actually hangs in our home in Vermont.
We bought primarily from auction houses.
The process is very open and transparent.
There’s no pressure to buy anything.
You can go to an auction preview and if
something interests you, you can bid on it
and pay as much as you feel comfortable
paying.
Then - around 2000, I went through a
“mid-life adjustment” of sorts. Christine
pointed out to me that we had become
quite well off. So, I decided to focus on
more than just growing my bank account.
She introduced me to a New York art
dealer. We had lunch. He pointed out to
me that I shouldn’t view art as being a
luxury, and I shouldn’t view collecting it
as consumption. I could even view it as a
diversification of my financial assets. That
made me comfortable with the idea of
spending a lot more of my money on art.
Then 9/11 happened, and that also made
me question my life goals. I recalled our
visits to London in the 1980s, when the
English art collector, Charles Saatchi, had
staged a number of absolutely spectacular
exhibitions at his gallery in North London.
It all came together. I got a real “collecting
bug”. A lot of collectors talk about art
collecting as an obsession or an addiction.
I became an addict, but it wasn’t driven by
the idea of buying paintings like trophies
to hang in my home. It was motivated by
the idea of creating a public space somewhere
where we could give exhibitions of
our art collection. That mindset defined
how we went about collecting— we decided
we were going to collect in depth. We
wanted to be able to make exhibitions that
were worth sharing with others. That’s what
we’ve been doing for almost 20 years now.
Q: You mentioned your wife many times. Is
she an artist or art lover?
A: Christine and I have known each other
since high school. My undergraduate degree
is in chemistry, and Christine’s degree
is in microbiology. We’re from the other
end of the spectrum in terms of education,
but art has always been an interest or a
passion that we have shared.
Q: Do you and your wife tend to agree on
art? Are there any instances in which you
have vehemently disagreed?
A: I would say that we generally are on the
same wavelength. There have been some
artists that I have become passionate
about where she has been not so sure, but
then eventually comes around. I tend to
be more impulsive. Christine tends to be
more reflective about it.
Q: Let’s talk about the actual art that
you’ve collected. I understand that the Hall
Art Foundation specializes in “Post-War”
art. Is there a reason that you are attracted
to art from that era?
A: Post-War art is the art that defines our
time. I was born in 1950, so it’s the art of
my generation. That’s not to say that we
are completely disinterested in art from
other periods. To the contrary, we have
spent many hours visiting museums around
the world, discovering and rediscovering
28 VERMONT MAGAZINE