BIOGRAPHY

“I’m always happier when I’m painting. It’s like Christmas every day….waking up to see what I painted the day before”

The works of Rosanna Hardin Hall are masterful depictions of ruins in Pompeii, lush villas and gardens in Venice, Florence, Rome, and Siena–classical, romantic, historical scenes.

Her paintings span a lifetime of adventure in travel to Japan, Hawaii, Tahiti and throughout the South Seas, English country estates, and French street scenes. She has also created many beautiful works of art of Gardens of Paradise in Damascus, Syria; Moghul gardens in India; and in the historic Woodruff Place neighborhood in Indianapolis where her gallery, Villa dell’Artista, is located.

But there’s another intriguing work that’s not quite as obvious as the oil paintings–the story of Rosanna’s Bohemian life that began in 1964 in Paris, where she lived almost a year, studying art and French language.

Since then, Rosanna has become one of Indianapolis’ most recognized artists, starting with an assignment at the Indianapolis News while working as a Lifestyle reporter after returning from Paris. The assignment? Feature stories on the lives of students at the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis.

“They reminded me of my Bohemian life in Paris where I studied oil painting with French artist Henri Goetz. I loved the lifestyle and I would have stayed if I had not run out of money.”

After the Herron article appeared, the school’s Dean, Donald Mattison, took note of Rosanna’s skills at writing and her keen interest in the arts and offered her a position in public relations, with the bonus of taking classes free of charge. She took the bait.

“It was wonderful, having other art students around, always talking about art,” she said. “At Herron, it was pure art. You could almost forget all the ‘practical’ things people tell you, like “you won’t get a job in art.’”

However, once she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Rosanna didn’t see the possibilities of making a living in Indianapolis. So she moved to Taos, New Mexico, where she held five part-time jobs to survive. Short on funds, she continued to paint the beauty of the Southwest desert and mountains–and her life style as a Bohemian. Finally, when she ran out of jobs in Taos, she decided to take a job as a features writer at the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper. She continued to paint at night and weekends while she reported on the artists and arts.  After seven years,  she was offered a feature writing position at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Lush tropical forests and flowers lured her to continue painting and to earn a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Hawaii.  

After returning to Indianapolis, her hometown, Rosanna transformed the cottage behind her family home into an art gallery. The property in Woodruff Place –the home where she grew up–has been in her family for three generations. Her grandparents John Hubbard Toy and Rosemay Moberley Toy moved from Richmond, Kentucky, to Indianapolis where he started Rex Insurance Company.

The Victorian neighborhood, dating from 1880s, has had an impact on her work.

“I love classical subjects and formal gardens,” she said. “It’s like living in Paradise with fountains, statues, and wonderful trees.”

Her adventures in travel and paintings endure in two of her books. Poesia: A Memoir of Painting in Venetian Gardens with Giorgione is about her love of the Italian Renaissance.  In Search of Paradise: Painting in the South Pacific with Paul Gauguin tells of the influence on her painting style by the 19^th-century French Post-Impressionist artist.  

 Rosanna has never regretted her decision to pursue the arts. “Everything I think about–history, philosophy, beauty in nature–all just come together in art for me, a Bohemian.”

Exhibitions

Holliday Park Nature Center

6363 Spring Mill Road, Indianapolis

August 2 – September 6, 2025

Other Upcoming Exhibits

 Various locations in Indianapolis are being finalized

Art openings at Villa dell’Artista

700 Middle Drive, Woodruff Place, Indianapolis

These public openings are offered on a monthly basis, most months of the year, on a Saturday afternoon (email Rosanna at rosannahhall@sbcglobal.net to be placed on the email list for notifications). Weather permitting, guests may also walk around the adjacent gardens.

Previous Exhibits (Solo or Group Shows)

1996 – Present

In Indianapolis, unless otherwise indicated:

Hilbert Circle Theatre, Indiana Hoosier Art Salon–Merit Award (Indianapolis and New Harmony), Indiana Landmarks (celebrating artists included in Indiana Plein Air Painters Association’s book), Second Presbyterian Church, Office of the Indiana Lieutenant Governor, Garfield Arts Center, Jewish Community Center, Office of the Indianapolis Mayor, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Art Museum of Greater Lafayette (Lafayette, Indiana), Indianapolis Art Center, Herron School of Art, Fort Wayne Museum of Art (Fort Wayne, Indiana), Columbia Club, and Park Tudor School.

Education And Training

M.F.A. degree, University of Hawaii, Honolulu

B.F.A., Herron School of Art and Design of Indiana University, Indianapolis

She also studied with the Maryland Art Institute Summer Program in Sorrento, Italy, with Howie Weiss and Ellen Buchanal; Art Workshop in Assisi, Italy, with Bill Patterson, Fred Wessel, Jack Beal and Sondra Freckelton; private studies with Dana Prescott of Temple University in Rome; Pratt in Venice Summer Program, with Dicks Ruben, Diana Gisolfi, and Dimitri Hazzikostas; and Florence Academy of Art, Italy, with Daniel Graves.

Additional Work Experience in the Arts

She has written features, art criticism, and news for the Washington Star, Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis News, Santa Fe New Mexican, Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and Peru Tribune. Her articles also have appeared in Artists of the Rockies, New Mexico Magazine, and the Honolulu Advertiser.

She has taught privately at her studios in Nambe, New Mexico, and in Indianapolis. She also has offered classes to the public at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu Academy of Art, and the Indianapolis Art Center.

During her art studies at Herron, she helped produce David Letterman’s first talk show, “Cloverpower,” in Indianapolis, appearing as his guest several times.