PHILIPS WOUWERMAN | The halt at the gypsy camp

M. Dubois, Paris;
By whom sold, Paris, Galerie Lebrun, 7–11 December 1840, lot 116, for 9,000 Francs;
Sir Thomas Baring, Bt. (1772–1848), London;
By whom sold, London, Christie's, 2 June 1848, for £183.15s to Norton;
Robert Napier (1791–1876), London;
His posthumous sale, London, Christie's, 13 April 1877, lot 487;
Helen Janssen Wetzel, Spring Township, Pennsylvania;
Her posthumous sale, New York, Sotheby Parke Bernet, 9 October 1980, lot 8 to Richard Green;
With Richard Green, London, 1981;
Private collection;
With Richard Green, London, by 1999;
Anonymous sale ('Property of a Corporation'), New York, Sotheby's, 27 May 2004, lot 23;
With Noortman Master Paintings, Maastricht and London, by 2005, from whom acquired by the present owner.

Leeds, Exhibition of Works of Art, 1868, no. 625 (lent by Robert Napier).

J. Smith, Catalogue raisonné… Supplement, vol. IX, London 1842, p. 161, cat. no. 68;
C. Hofstede de Groot, A catalogue raisonné..., vol. II, London 1909, p. 561, cat. no. 929;
B. Schumacher, Philips Wouwerman (1619–1668). The Horse Painter of the Golden Age, 2 vols, Doornspijk 2006, vol. I, p. 340, cat. no. A430, reproduced vol. II, pl. 401.

The panel is uncradled, made of a single plank, and is flat and stable. The painting is rather lighter in tone than the image in the catalogue suggests. It has a wooden slip glued to all four edges. The varnish is clear and even. There are no major damages visible to the naked eye. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals some minor, scattered retouchings, mostly to mask the horizontal grain of the panel. One area of more concentrated retouching is at the upper right corner and side of the panel in the sky, and to the left of the head of the mounted horseman. In overall good condition. Offered in a carved wood and gesso-gilt frame in the French style with some chips and losses.
"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."

Birgit Schumacher, in her authoritative 2006 catalogue of Wouwerman's works (see Literature) dates this canvas to the last years of the artist's life, 1665–68. In Smith's supplement to the catalogue raisonné of Wouwerman's work that he published in 1842 (see Literature), the painting listed after the present work is described as its companion. Both canvases are the same size and both were in the collection of M. Dubois, Paris and later included in Dubois' sale in Paris in 1840 (see Provenance). This companion picture is described by Smith as a Military halting at a Sutler's booth and sold for 8,450 Francs in the Dubois sale. This work was formerly in the collection of Sir Thomas Baring who, in 1810, inherited Stratton Park along with his late father's collection of Dutch cabinet pictures and works by Turner, Augustus Wall Callcott and other contemporary British artists. In 1812 these works were sold to the Prince Regent (later George IV) with Sir Thomas Baring keeping only a few select paintings for himself, of which this was one.

A drawn copy of the right side of the composition, possibly dated, was sold London, Sotheby's, 5 July 1920, lot 844.