D.J. (Debra Jane) Hall is a southern California representational, figurative painter, best known for her portraits of women by poolside. Papers record her personal life and artistic career, including family records, teaching materials, research materials for projects and artwork, documentations of artwork, exhibitions and interviews, as well as original prints and artwork.

D.J. (Debra Jane) Hall is a southern California representational, figurative painter, best known for her portraits of women by poolside. Hall was born in Los Angeles in 1951. At age three her parents Thomas Lyon and Jane Aven Hall divorced, and Hall's mother was later diagnosed with mental illness. During her uneasy childhood, Hall spent much of her time with her grandparents Margaret Lyon and Edward Mathew Hall in their Santa Ana residence. During these early years, Hall started to cultivate her imagination in drawing. Later, Hall moved to Los Angeles with her mother, where they lived for five years with her maternal grandparents Ruth and Horace Aven. She attended Airport Junior High School and Inglewood High School. With an academic scholarship, Hall attended University of Southern California (USC), and she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor degree in Fine Arts. At USC, Hall met architect Toby Watson, whom she married after her graduation in 1973. Although unaware of the photorealism art movement at the time, Hall developed a distinctive style of realist painting through working with photographs.

27 document boxes (13.25 linear ft.) 6 oversize boxes 2 shoe boxes 2 map folders

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