The McMaster Museum of Art announces the positive identification of a unique and rare portrait by 17th century British artist Mary Beale (1663 – 1699) in the Museum’s collection. For over fifty years it had been mistakenly attributed to Flemish painter Michael (Michiel) Sweerts (1618 – 1664). Beale is considered to be the first woman professional portraitist in England, and while successful at a time when women artists were not accepted, her work and contributions gradually faded from view. There has been a renewed interest and a scholarly revival over the past fifteen years. This intimate portrait of Beale’s husband Charles is among a few known family portraits done by Beale during a brief period more than 350 years ago. Two others, now in the collection of Tate Britain, were discovered in a Paris antique store in 2013. The revelation is highly

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