Notes on Art and Life: In Conversation with Marcia B. Hall

In an increasingly fast-paced world, Marcia B. Hall is inviting you to slow down. After years of publishing various books on the topic of color in art, Marcia’s new book, The Lingering Look: Discovering the Unexpected in Art, was inspired by the realization that people spend, on average, less than one minute looking at each piece of art during museum visits.

“This is my first book that isn’t scholarly,” said Marcia. “I’m trying to persuade people about the benefit of slow art, and encourage people to slow down.”

Marcia’s love of slow art began during her childhood in Manhattan, where she attended school near The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

“I remember being about eight years old and visiting the museum by myself. When I arrived, there were no crowds, just plenty of space to wander and explore. It was incredible to have the art all to myself.” – Marcia B. Hall

As an adult, Marcia attended Wellesley College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and went on to achieve a PhD in Art of the Italian Renaissance from Harvard University. After moving to the Philadelphia area with her husband, Marcia began her career as a professor specializing in art of the Italian Renaissance–first at Franklin and Marshall, then at Temple University, where she remained until retiring last fall. Early in her career, Marcia published two books on color–Color and Meaning: Color and Theory in Renaissance Painting and The Power of Color: Five Centuries of European Painting.

“I was particularly interested in color and the use of specific materials used to create certain pigments,” Marcia said. “I always really loved color. It’s the emotional side of art–and it’s usually what makes you feel something when you first see a painting.”

While color might seem like a basic concept to apply to art, much of the work that Marcia was doing with her students was revolutionary.

“In the early days it was a new frontier. Writing Color and Meaning took me 15 years, and I invented a whole vocabulary around how to talk about color,” Marcia said. “I also became very interested in the second half of the 16th century, which was very neglected after the rise of Michelangelo, Titian, and Raphael. There’s so much to extract about the history of a time period through the art that was created.”

Marcia loved working with and mentoring students throughout the course of her career, but as retirement neared, she was feeling more ready to downsize from her home in Chestnut Hill.

“A friend from my book club had moved to The Hill and invited me to come tour the property,” Marcia recalled. “I knew I wanted an apartment and once I made up my mind, I moved in pretty quickly! It just seemed logical to time it with my retirement.”

Since moving into her one-bedroom apartment, Marcia has been practicing what she preaches in her new book: the art of slowing down.

“My apartment has such a lovely view,” she said. “I love all the sky I can see and the pretty garden down below. I didn’t want to bring too much with me into this apartment–I’m feeling very light and happy in this space.”