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Borchard acquired 'Myself in a Bad Mood' in 1965. The Prussian blue of the artist’s shirt adds a subtly strident element to the greys, olives and browns. His head and upper torso are commandingly modelled. He looks distinguished with neat moustache and goatee beard. Yet he exudes melancholy, a suppressed anxiety, evoked by the rugged lines etched beneath hang-dog eyes. Hall was often depressed by difficulties earning a living as a painter but found something enthralling about his bohemian poverty. He decided to leave Paris eventually as he did not wish to take money from his parents. Gwen John told him: ‘If people help you they will do so because they like to and you have no obligation to them... Only this, do good work.’ He commented sadly in 1958: ‘Gwen John gave me the right advice thirty years ago.