_Frans Hals_ (Dutch: 1580-1666). _See 1021._
An important accession to the Gallery, as an example of the large
portrait-groups in which Hals excelled. The composition whereby the ten
figures are all brought into a group is ingenious--the part played by
the direction of the elder boy's attention to the other being in this
respect important--though in colour the harmony is somewhat disturbed
by the emphatic lights of the lace and linen worn by each member of
the group. There is individual character in all the portraits; among
the figures which most compel admiration are those of the mother, full
of quiet dignity, of the eldest daughter, standing on the right with a
work-basket in her hand (both beautifully painted), and of the little
girl seated in front. The picture unknown to the connoisseurs before
its acquisition for the National Gallery--was purchased in 1908 from
Lord Talbot de Malahide for £25,000.