Christie’s will offer a group of important and highly collectable 17th-century Dutch and Flemish paintings from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), during two live auctions, Old Masters I and Old Master Paintings and Sculpture II, taking place 5 February 2025 at Rockefeller Center. The MFA has one of the world’s finest collections of Netherlandish art, with holdings that span all categories of Dutch painting and include a wide range of artists. This group of almost 20 paintings – many of which have been off the market for a half a century or more – is being auctioned to fund future acquisitions that will provide further depth and better serve the evolving needs of the museum’s audiences.
A Director of Old Master Paintings at Christie’s, John Hawley, said: “Collectors of Old Masters have long prized works from major American institutions, but only infrequently has a group with such provenance and quality appeared on the market as these Dutch and Flemish paintings from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The MFA has one of the finest collections of Netherlandish paintings in the world and has long been at the vanguard of efforts to preserve, display and study the art of the Lowlands. The proceeds from the deaccession of these exceptional works will be used to further enrich the museum’s collection in this field.”
The Baker Curator of Paintings and Chair of Art of Europe at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Frederick Ilchman said: “The MFA is extremely fortunate to have an exceptional collection of Dutch and Flemish paintings, with our holdings nearly doubling in 2017 thanks to the landmark gift from Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo and Susan and Matthew Weatherbie. Over the past several years, our curatorial team carefully reviewed the entire collection. Our process revealed that some pictures were similar to, even duplicative of, other works by the same artists at the MFA. Given that these paintings were less likely to be displayed, we felt they could be deaccessioned for the benefit of the Museum. The proceeds from the Christie’s sale will allow us to continue to raise the caliber of the Dutch and Flemish collection, meeting the evolving needs of our community long into the future.”
The lead lot of the MFA pictures is Bandits Leading Prisoners, an Italianate landscape by a renowned master of this type of view, Jan Both (estimate: $1,000,000-1,500,000).
Other highlights among the close to 20 paintings in the group include Emanuel de Witte’s Nieuwe Kerk, (estimate: $400,000-600,000), an atmospheric interior view of the important 15th-century church on the Dam Square in Amsterdam;
a sizeable tonal still life by Pieter Claesz. (estimate: $150,000-250,000);
and a Jan Josefsz. van Goyen river view, River Landscape with a ferry and a church (estimate: 150,000-250,000).
