Ferdinand Bol

Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, April 7, 1794, lot 30, to Royens (possibly G. van Rooijen);
With Howard Young (1878 - 1972), London and New York, by 1955;
Gift of Howard Young to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 1955, (acc. no. 55.33).

Los Angeles County Museum, Bulletin of the Art Division, 7, no. 3, summer 1955, p. 20, reproduced;
Los Angeles County Museum, Bulletin of the Art Division, 10, no. 4, 1958, reproduced;
A. Blankert, Ferdinand Bol: Rembrandt's Pupil, The Netherlands 1982, pp. 63, 134-135, cat. no. 111, reproduced plate 120 (as circa 1663);
P. Sutton, Dutch Art in America, Grand Rapids and Kampen 1986, p. 132;
S. Schaefer, et al., European Painting and Sculpture in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles 1987, p. 19, reproduced (as circa 1670).

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has not been restored for some time and would benefit from a cleaning. The condition of the figure itself is very good. The face, the hair and the bulk of the figure is undamaged. There is a horizontal damage that begins above the hand, runs through the cuff of the shirt and into the red gown, and there is a fairly broad restoration which is visible under ultraviolet light which attends to this loss. There are some other small losses in the lower left and also in the gown in the lower right corner. Overall the condition of the figure is very good. Most significant restoration and the only other retouched area of note, is the sky and the architecture to the immediate right of the head. This is clearly visible to the naked eye and addresses a large and rather complex tear which has been very broadly filled and retouched, and although there is no doubt that there is a structural damage here, it is more than likely that the restoration is greatly exaggerated. This damage runs from the side of the cheek, but not in the cheek, to the right side of the picture and vertically within the sky itself. The lining can remain but the restoration is in need of reexamination.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Blankert dates this portrait to circa 1663 and compares it to a signed and dated work from that year, Portrait of a Gentleman (the so-called "Artus Quellinus") in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.  The sitters in both portraits are depicted in rich colors of yellow and purplish-red and are similarly posed with outstretched right hands.