Group portrait of a gentleman and his wife, full-length, and their four children on a terrace

Gerbrand Ban came from the Borst family of Haarlem, where his father was a brewer. He is thought to have been the pupil of Pieter Fransz. de Grebber (c. 1600-1652/3). In 1640 Ban was working as a painter and art dealer in Amsterdam, and in 1648 he moved to the city of Enkhuizen where he had relations. Enkhuizen was home to a community of artists that had included the portraitist Herman Meindertsz. Doncker, and Ban was able to establish himself as a portrait painter in his wake. Few identified portraits are known by the artist; these mostly depict single sitters, and this appears to be his first group portrait to have come to light.