Margareta de Heer

Attached to old backing sheet down left side. Numerous small losses, though few in the flower or the insects. Colours unfaded.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Margareta de Heer worked for most of her career in Friesland, where she married the painter Andries Pietersz. Nieuhoff.  De Heer's known oeuvre consists of some forty works, of which the earliest is a 1644 still life with shells and insects in the Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, with most of the others probably dating from the 1650s.  The majority of de Heer's compositions are either farmyard scenes, or still-life compositions such as the present lot.  Among the latter, two comparable examples are in Groningen (where there are 9 or 10 watercolours by the artist), another in the Amsterdam Historisch Museum¹ and three have been sold in London and Amsterdam.²

1. L.J. Bol, Bekoring van het kleine, Stichting Openbaar Kunstbezit, 1963, nos. 7, 22 and 43
2. Sales, London, Sotheby's, 21 March 1973, lot 34; Amsterdam, Sotheby's, 5 November 2002, lot 141; London, Sotheby's, 6 July 2010, lot 169