(Possibly sale, London, Foster, 15 Nov. 1836, "Portrait of a Lady of Quality in the figure of a Magdalen," sold for £1.3 to);(1) Golding. "Alderman" T. Holroyd, ca. 1860.(2) Unidentified religious institution, England (sale, Lancaster).(3) London art market, 1982. [Trafalgar Galleries, London, sold 1983 to]; LACMA.
Footnotes
(1) Although the sale price is remarkably low, LACMA’s painting is the only known portrait like Mary Magdalen by Vouet. The location of the sale in London twenty-four years before it was known to be in Holroyd’s London collection further suggests that the reference may be to this painting.
(2) According to a letter dated 11 November 1983 from R. Cohen, Trafalgar Galleries: "When the painting first came to us it bore a large gilt plaque inscribed: "Presented by Alderman T. Holroyd. The plaque has been mislaid . . . but must, I suppose, have been datable around 1860–80." Vouet object file, Department of European Painting and Sculpture, LACMA.
(3) According to a letter dated 9 November 1983 from R. Cohen, Trafalgar Galleries: "The picture was originally acquired in an auction in a small town in Lancashire and we understand that it had previously belonged to a religious institution for at least a hundred years. It was later acquired by a dealer friend of ours who approached us about it." Vouet object file, Department of European Painting and Sculpture, LACMA.
