Dutch and Flemish Seventeenth-Century Paintings: The Harold Samuel Collection

The Harold Samuel Collection, comprising eighty-four seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish paintings, has been described as the finest private collection of such works to be formed in Britain this century. It includes paintings by such masters as Frans Hals, Nicolaes Maes and Gerard Dou, acquired by Lord Samuel for his personal pleasure and to hang in his home, Wych Cross. The Collection was bequeathed to the Corporation of London in 1987 to be hung permanently in the Lord Mayor's Residence, Mansion House. The refurbishment of Mansion House has provided the unique opportunity for an exhibition tour, during which the Harold Samuel will be seen by many for the very first time. Coinciding with the exhibition, a complete catalogue of the Collection has been compiled by an acknowedged expert, Peter C. Sutton. This book is the permanent record of a small but extremely important collection of paintings, which will delight scholar and amateur alike.