Acknowledgments

As I have never studied the history of art, and make absolutely no pretension to be anything other than an interested layman, the chapters in this book on Louise Hollandine and the Golden Age of Dutch painting obviously presented a particular challenge. Luckily, I had assistance from a number of people who gave generously of their time and expertise, and without whom this work would be much the poorer. Chief among these were Ronni Baer, the William and Ann Elfers Senior Curator of Paintings, Art of Europe, at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; and Adam Eaker, Assistant Curator, Department of European Painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Each of these scholars taught me more in fifteen minutes than I had managed to glean on my own from books. Dr. Baer took time out of an incredibly busy schedule to discuss Gerrit van Honthorst’s career, and even took me to a museum workroom where one of his early paintings was being restored. Dr. Eaker not only helped provide insight into Louise Hollandine’s allegorical paintings, but also aided the effort to track down the images of her work that appear in this book, and which add so much to her story. Barbara von Barghahn, Full Professor, Department of Fine Art and Art History at George Washington University, was also kind enough to read the chapter on Honthorst and the general history of seventeenth-century Dutch art to ensure that I did not make any glaring errors.

As regards the illustrations, I must also thank Carolyn Cruthirds at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for helping me to obtain the rights to publish Honthorst’s Triumph of the Winter Queen; Karen Serres and Louisa Dare at the Courtauld Gallery in London for “Boye the dog” and research on other images of Louise Hollandine’s work; David Pollack and Sarah Evans from Sotheby’s and Amparo Martinez Russotto at Christie’s for their aid in locating and obtaining permissions from private collections for paintings sold at auction; and Susanna Feder at Bridgeman Images for her patience and good humor in the face of an onslaught of emails from an obsessive author. My deepest appreciation also goes to Dr. Willem Jan Hoogsteder and his assistant Emilie den Tonkelaar at Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder for providing the images and permissions for Louise Hollandine’s self-portrait as a nun and the portrait of Prince Philip. Dr. Hoogsteder, who wrote his dissertation on Elizabeth Stuart and Frederick V, has assembled perhaps the defining collection of paintings relating to the Winter Queen and her family. To see some of them, go to hoogsteder.com/exhibitions/previous-exhibitions/buy-winter-queen-exhibition and download the exhibition newspaper.

To Simon Wright at Orion (another recipient of those obsessive emails), whose time I’m afraid I rather monopolized, many thanks for all the help finding images and securing permissions. I am also grateful to be represented in the UK by Tom Robinson, who has stayed with me throughout my career. And of course my deepest appreciation as always to Alan Samson, my editor and publisher at Weidenfeld & Nicolson, upon whose friendship and support I can always rely.

Similarly, I must also thank Asya Muchnick, my editor at Little, Brown, for her careful read, warmth, and praise for the book; the same goes for her former assistant, Sarah Haugen, who helped me through the publishing process. And to my agent Michael Carlisle, who placed this work exactly where it should be, and who I consider at this point to be a de facto member of my family, my enduring thanks.

And finally, this book was an immense effort for me that I could not have undertaken, let alone finish, without the love and support of my family. To my daughter, Lee, who took the time to read the book in manuscript and was so enthusiastic and helpful when I was anxious and uncertain, I cannot thank you enough. You gave me such insightful edits, and your love and approbation absolutely buoyed me. And to my husband, Larry, who also took days away from his own pressing deadlines to read the book in manuscript even after the poor guy had heard most of it while I was writing it, and who has steadfastly maintained throughout all my wailing that this was my best work, all my love and gratitude.