Press releases

Frans Hals’ children’s portraits now on show at Frans Hals Museum

Museum celebrates return of recently acquired paintings with activities for young and old

16 Jul 2025

Boy Playing the Violin and Girl Singing (c. 1628) by Frans Hals will be on display at the Frans Hals Museum from 16 July to 7 September 2025. The two paintings will receive a festive welcome, with a free opening weekend on 19 and 20 July, complete with lectures in the gallery, drop-in workshops and more.

Now on show in Haarlem

The two paintings were recently purchased by the Frans Hals Museum and the Mauritshuis at an auction in New York. Visitors will be able to see them at the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem, the town where they were painted, from 16 July to 7 September 2025. They will then move on to the Mauritshuis. A year later, on 5 November 2026, the children will return to Haarlem for an exhibition entitled Hals – Rembrandt, which will be at the Frans Hals Museum until 28 February 2027.

Arnoud van Dommele, Business Director Mauritshuis, and Lidewij de Koekkoek, Director Frans Hals Museum. Photo: Mike Bink.

Activities for young and old

The paintings will be given a festive welcome, with a free opening weekend on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 July, complete with lectures in the gallery, drop-in workshops for young and old, and more. HAL on Grote Markt, with its exhibition Faces of Noord-Holland, now showing until 17 August, will also be accessible free of charge all weekend.

Possibly Hals’ own children

The two paintings are remarkable for several reasons. First of all, it is possible that they depict two of Hals’ own children, Frans and Sara. Their father painted them making music, a common sight in the Hals household. There are very few genre paintings – showing ordinary people going about their daily activities – by Hals in Dutch museum collections. Until now, the Frans Hals Museum did not have a genre painting by the 17th-century master in its collection.

Addition to the Dutch national collection

Lidewij de Koekkoek, director of the Frans Hals Museum, is incredibly proud that the paintings will be coming to the museum. ‘These pieces are an unbelievably important addition to the Dutch national collection. They show Hals’ talent for capturing everyday events. We are delighted to have had the opportunity to purchase the two paintings together with the Mauritshuis, and look forward to being able to show the children to the public.’

Installation of Singing Girl and Boy Playing the Violin by Frans Hals, c. 1628, Frans Hals Museum. Photo: Mike Bink.

About Frans Hals

Frans Hals (1580-1666) is one of the most famous, and most innovative, Dutch painters of the 17th century. His dynamic brushwork and spontaneous compositions made his work unique, and were emulated by many. His style quickly became popular and he received many portrait commissions, including from the wealthy brewers and civic guards of Haarlem. He also often portrayed ordinary people, a development that started in Haarlem and other towns, and later spread throughout the country. Later, his work influenced many other artists, including the impressionists and Vincent van Gogh.

Support

Boy Playing the Violin and Girl Singing by Frans Hals were purchased with the support of the Rembrandt Association, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science’s National Acquisition Fund, the Mondrian Fund, the VriendenLoterij lottery, the Turing Foundation, the Friends of the Frans Hals Museum, the Haarlem municipal council and a number of private benefactors.