DIRCK HALS | Portrait of a lady, bust-length, in a gold-embroidered dress with a ruff and red ribbons

Count Gerard Joseph Emile D'Aquin (b. 1865), a buyer for William Randolph Hearst;
Thence by descent in his family;
By whom sold, New York, Christie’s, 26 January 2012, lot 285 (as School of Haarlem, circa 1620);
There acquired.

This charming miniature portrait is an early work by Dirck Hals, the younger brother of Frans Hals.  The swirling brushstrokes in the sitter's face and the delicate strokes that define her lace are consistent with the stylistic handling of his more youthful output, as also visible in his miniature Portrait of Arent Meyndertsz Fabricius of 1626 (Haarlem, Frans Hals Museum)¹ as well as his larger Merry Company of 1633 (The Hague, Mauritshuis).²  We are grateful to Dr. Pieter Biesboer for his assistance in cataloguing the present lot and for endorsing the attribution after firsthand inspection.  

1.  Inv. no. os I-106, oil on panel, 14 by 10.5 cm.
2.  Inv. no. 1060, oil on panel, 30 by 51.3 cm, signed and dated DHALS 1633.