Eric Hall: The Art of the Gliff

Eric Hall: The Art of the Gliff

Eric Hall (1930-2023) captured scenes of Philadelphia, for it was there that he could always find what he referred to as ‘the gliff’ or “the transient glance, the unexpected view, that catches my eye and intrigues me enough to want to paint." Mostly a self-taught artist, Hall was raised in Liverpool, England. At 15, he was hired at Lee & Nightingale Advertising after fulfilling the interviewer’s request and drawing Liverpool’s iconic town hall in an hour. By 19, Hall became an assistant to his first mentor, commercial artist Dennis Collins. In 1952, he immigrated to the U.S., where he embarked on an award-winning career as an art director and illustrator.

Upon retiring in 1996, Hall dedicated himself to painting full time, studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and becoming a member of the academy’s Fellowship. Although he painted a wide range of subjects, including abstract pieces, this exhibition focuses on the artist’s landscapes, vignettes of urban life, and colorful still lifes. Philadelphia often served as a backdrop for Hall’s work, because it provided for the artist “the gliff of constantly new perspectives of modern urban life.” His iconic 10-foot by 6-foot triptych, Expressway (1998), is housed in the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Hall continued to paint until his passing in 2023, at 93 years old. 

This exhibition was curated by student curatorial interns, Ava Crosby ‘26 and Joshua Wilson ‘26, and Dr. Erin Downey, Assistant Curator.

THE ART OF THE GLIFF

as described by Eric Hall

As usual, the French have a word for it: coup d'oeil - literally a stroke of the eye.

But in England's north country, where I grew up, the word was 'the gliff’- the transient glance; an unexpected view of something that startles or intrigues.

Within the American city, the gliff can reveal compelling studies of human behaviour. When starkly realistic and void of sentimentality it can, in a moment, capture the humanity of life there.

My work tends to be marked by strong architectural elements which frame but never overpower the subjects. Rather, the structures serve to intensify the emotional context.

The massiveness of “Expressway" with its suggestion of speeding traffic heightens the liberation of the lone cyclist. The confines of the parking garage in "Level C" increase the tense intimacy of the couple. In "Cigarette," a city street emphasizes the insouciance of the exhiled smoker. And the very anonymity of the commuters in "Underground" pulls the viewer onto the platform, alone with the faceless crowd,

The city is a wonderful subject for study but it is the people who move within it; how they give life to it and are, in turn, effected by it that always take my attention and provides the gliff of constantly new perspectives of modern urban life.