(Amsterdam 1605–1661 Rudnik)Portrait of an elderly lady, inscribed and dated: AETATIS 62 A 1640, oil on panel, 71.7 x 60.3 cm, framed Provenance: collection of Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Baronet, 1st Baron Hesketh of Hesketh (1881–1944), Easton Neston House, Northants; Sotheby’s, London, 17.-19.05. 2005, “Easton Neston Sale”, lot 283 (as circle of Michiel van Mierevelt) Documentation: Foster et al., Hon. Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, The Inventory of the Contents of the Mansion Easton Neston House, Towcester... at 9 Montagu Square, London, removed by Lady Hesketh from Easton Neston House, MS, August 1910, Hesketh Family Archive (as “Dutch School, Head of an old Woman”). Despite its high quality, it has not been possible thus far to find a convincing attribution for this painting. It corresponds with the style of Danckerts, who was active in the Baltic and Poland as a court painter from 1640. This portrait must have been executed shortly before his departure. The painting comes from the famous collection of Hesketh family from Easton Neston House, a architectural masterpiece by Sir Nicholas Hawksmoor, known for his design for Blenheim Palace.

An attribution to Jan Verspronck (Haarlem ? 1606–1662) has been suggested for the present painti