Portrait of a Woman
Gerard ter Borch
(Dutch, 1617–1681)
about 1670
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
Dimensions46.4 x 38.1 cm (18 1/4 x 15 in.)
Credit LineM. Theresa B. Hopkins Fund
Accession number47.372
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Although best known for his narrative pictures of contemporary life, Gerard ter Borch was a master at painting small, exquisite portraits. Not only the size of this painting but also the placement of the subject within it, low and off-center against an empty background, give this unidentified woman a diminutive delicacy and poignant sense of isolation.
ProvenanceKarl Eduard von Liphart (b. 1808 - d. 1891), Dorpat (Estonia), Bonn, and Florence. Frederick Bayley Pratt (b. 1865 - d. 1945), Glen Cove, Long Island; by descent to his daughter, Helen Ladd Pratt (b. 1899 - d. 1972) and her husband, Jesse Holladay Philbin (b. 1890 - d. 1959), New York; April 3, 1947, consigned by J. H. Philbin to M. Knoedler and Co., New York (stock no. CA 2825) [see note 1]; 1947, sold by Knoedler to the MFA for $6000. (Accession Date: April 10, 1947)NOTES:
[1] According to information provided by Knoedler at the time of the acquisition, this painting came from the estate of Frederick Bayley Pratt. For further information, see Getty Provenance Index, M. Knoedler and Co. records, Commission Book 4, p. 79, no. CA 2825.
Gerard Soest
Jacob Adriaensz. Backer
Unidentified artist, Belgian, fourth quarter 18th century