A long-misattributed painting by Frans Hals (ca. 1580-1666) is on view at Bernheimer Fine Old Masters from February 10 through 28. The picture, of a flushed Saint Mark gripping his heart, is a rare example of a religious work by the artist, belonging to a series of four saintly portraits that he executed in the mid-17th century. When it last appeared on the market, in 1972 at Christie’s London, it was identified as a court painting of a gentleman by the 17th-century Neapolitan artist Luca Giordano and failed to find a buyer. But a postsale cleaning revealed that the lace ruff and sleeves festooning the subject’s robe, which made him appear to be a noble figure, had been added in the 19th century. After this discovery, Hals scholar Claus Grimm credited the Flemish master with the work. Bernheimer obtained the painting, priced around £5 million ($7.7 million), last fall from a German collector who had purchased it shortly after the Christie’s sale in 1972. A concurrent Hals show at Munich’s Kunsthalle opens on February 13.

"Hals Mark" originally appeared in the February 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction''s February 2009 Table of Contents.