painting (oil): ["A Dutch Party"]

This "merry company" scene shows a gathering of twenty-two male and female figures in a room with a tiled floor. They are grouped around long tables on which food and plates can be seen. In the centre, a man tilts backwards on his chair, beside him are two dogs. Several of the figures are looking out of the picture at the spectator, such as the woman with the group on the right who turns around on her chair to glance towards us. Sitting in front of her is a man smoking a pipe. On the wall behind this group is a map which has been identified as the map of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands, which was issued in 1602 by the Dutch publisher and map-maker, Jodocus Hondius (1563-1612). Hals used the same map in a similar scene now in the National Gallery, Prague. The picture on the back wall shows a ship on stormy seas. Several of the figure compositions re-appear in other works by Hals. Virag 13/12/2004, Between 1984 and 1985, a research assistant, Dr. Brendan Cassidy, was employed by Nottingham Castle Museum to research and write a catalogue of the foreign oil paintings in their collection. The catalogue never materialised, but drafts and notes relating to Cassidy's research can be found in the Artist Files and in the Archive at the museum. All references to Cassidy relate to these documents. NCM 1910-55 has been dated by Peter Sutton, Philadelphia Museum of Art, as a work by Hals from the "late twenties" (Latter adted July 13 1984 to Cassidy) On the front: There is a crack from left to right along the width of the panel on the lower half. The crack is presumably a visible join where the panel has been constructed from two pieces of wood. The crack has been re-touched along its length. On the reverse: 1. Label with red border and docked corners: "33189" 2. In white chalk: "68" 3. Label at upper left: "W. Graham Esq. No. 21" 4. White, modern label: "D. Hals 53" (this number relates to the "Dutch Painting" exhibition held in Birmingham in 1989) 5. Remains of a label at top of frame: "MIDLAND COUNTIES ART MUSEUM NOTTINGHAM CASTLE …kenzie [handwritten] …on [handwritten]" The two pieces of wood are fastened together by four wooden struts which have been set into the wood along the join. Virag 13/12/2004, Collection of William Graham M.P. (1817-1885); by marriage to Kenneth Augustus Muir Mackenzie from 1874; on loan to Nottingham Castle Museum (then Midland Counties Art Museum) from 1879; Given by Sir Kenneth Muir Augustus Mackenzie to Nottingham Castle Museum, 10/05/1910.