Attributed to Wallerant Vaillant (Dutch,1623-1677)
Portrait of a Lady
Faint signature or inscription u.r., inscribed "N. Vaillant fecit 1652" and "Grootmoeder van Erpecum" in another hand on the reverse, with a collector's stamp from Julius Samuel Held (L.4805) on the reverse.
Black chalk heightened with white on blue paper, 16 1/4 x 13 1/2 in. (41.4 x 34.5 cm), framed.
Condition: Horizontal crease 3/4 in. down from top edge, original sheet appears to have been lined onto a supporting sheet, 1/4 in. tear to edge at u.l. corner, scattered pinholes, holes to l.l. quadrant in the bottom of the collar and in the dress, staining to l.l.
Provenance: H.S. Reitlinger; Sotheby's London, June 23, 1954, Lot 729; to Julius Held by 1970; Christie's, New York, The Scholar's Eye: Property from the Julius Held Collection Part II, January 30, 2009; purchased by George Way on eBay by 2014.
Literature: George Way, "A drawing of a woman," Dutch, The Magazine, September/October 2014, p. 35.
Exhibitions: University Art Gallery, State University of New York at Binghamton, and elsewhere, Selections from the drawing collection of Mr. and Mrs. Julius S. Held, January 5-28, 1970, no. 32.
N.B. The attribution on the reverse is written "N. Vaillant" which may imply "After Vaillant" using the Dutch abbreviation for "naar." There is a remarkably similar drawing attributed to Bernard Vaillant after Wallerant Vaillant, Portrait of Geertruid Hooftman (1609-1658) to which this drawing would seem to relate.
Provenance: The estate of George Way.
Estimate $200-400
Framed dimensions are 21 x 18 3/4 x 3/4 in.
Christie's label for Sale 2249, Lot 312 affixed to the reverse.
Also inscribed Ex. Coll. Reitlinger 373.74 on the reverse.
Temporary registration label from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute on the reverse.
Items may have wear and tear, imperfections, or the effects of aging. Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.