Oosterbeeks paard: a farmer on horseback amongst his cattle

Van de Sande Bakhuyzen was one of the first painters to sell his work to patrons in the United States of America. A similar painting to the present lot, dated 1846, was transported to Philadelphia, where it was appreciated so much that soon afterwards several East Coast Americans commissioned paintings with a similar horse and rider to decorate their elegant homes. Oosterbeek is a small town in the East of Holland, after which this horse is named. Later in the century the Hague School painters would follow Van de Sande Bakhuyzens path and export their works to America.

The painter inscribed this work 'Haga Comitis', which is Latin for The Hague, the town in which the present lot was painted.