A new publication about the paintings of Frans Hals in American collections has been published by CODART member Dennis Weller, Curator Emeritus at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC.

Weller’s book expands and updates W. R. Valentiner’s informative, yet flawed, Frans Hals Paintings in America from 1936. An important contribution to the history of collecting in America, it provides readers with a detailed understanding of Hals in America today. The book discusses topics such as the thorny issue of Hals attributions, the impact of a dynamic art market over several generations, and more than a century of scholarly research and debate.

Frans Hals in America begins with an overview of Hals’s rediscovery by artists during the second half of the nineteenth century. Shortly thereafter, collectors on both sides of the Atlantic sought out his paintings. Here, ‘Gilded Age’ Americans led the charge. In addition to exploring in detail the narrative of Hals in America, this fully illustrated book also includes a catalogue of paintings, and a detailed bibliography.

An extract, which includes the table of contents, introduction and more, is available for download.

Frans Hals in America: Collectors, Scholars and Connoisseurs
Dennis P. Weller
Hardcover, 310 pp.
Newcastle upon Tyne, N (Cambridge Scholars Publishing) 2022
ISBN: 1-5275-8220-5