Two children’s portraits by Frans Hals return to the Netherlands

The Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem and the Mauritshuis in The Hague have jointly purchased two paintings by Frans Hals at an auction in New York.

Boy Playing the Violin and Girl Singing, both painted around 1628, were bought at Sotheby’s for $7.8 million, with funding from a variety of sources including the government and private donors.

“The paintings are a unique acquisition for the Netherlands, because they may depict Hals’ own children, and offer us a glimpse of the Netherlands in the 17th century,” the museums said in a statement. “They will remain together, and will be shown alternately in Haarlem and The Hague.”

The paintings were previously owned by a private collector.

Frans Hals (1583–1666) is one of the most famous and most innovative Dutch painters of the 17th century, known for his dynamic brushwork and spontaneous compositions.

He often portrayed ordinary people, a development that began in Haarlem and other towns and later spread throughout the country. His work later influenced many other artists, including the impressionists and Vincent van Gogh.

The Frans Hals Museum has the world’s largest collection of paintings by Hals, but until now did not own any of his genre scenes. The new acquisitions will be on display at the Frans Hals Museum from mid-July, and will also feature in its Hals–Rembrandt exhibition, which opens in November 2026.