[2] On the death of George Frederick Folingsby in 1891, he was appointed director of the National Gallery of Victoria and master of the School of Arts in Melbourne.

Hall also acted as adviser to the trustees for purchases for the gallery and art museum, and when the munificent bequest of Alfred Felton was received in 1904 his responsibilities were much increased.

After his return he was expected to advise on everything submitted that might find a place in an art museum and, although he never claimed to be an expert in all these things, he supplemented his knowledge with hard reading and made relatively few mistakes.

He was often represented at the Victorian Artists’ and other societies' exhibitions and held several one-man shows, but he was kept so busily employed as director and adviser, that his paintings had to be done at weekends and during vacations.

There has been much difference of opinion as to the value of his methods of teaching, but his long roll of distinguished pupils suggests that his insistence on sincerity, truth and good drawing, must have been of great value to them.

Cohen, James Quinn, Bess Tait and Marion Jones as well as British sculptors Gilbert Bayes and Lady Hilton Young.