| Admin/Biog History | Martin de Wild (full name Angenitus Martinus de Wild, 1899-1969), was the son of Derix de Wild (1869-1932). Both were picture restorers.
In 1927, at de Wild's suggestion, a panel painting by Frans Hals was x-rayed at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, revealing a partly over-painted image which matched an earlier engraving. de Wild then cleaned the picture at Knoedlers London office in July 1928, and this led to its identification as Hals long-lost picture of Verdonck. de Wild was awarded a PhD by Delft University of Technology, and his dissertation was published a year later as a book, The Scientific Examination of Pictures. He included an illustrated case study in the book of how he used scientific methods to identify the picture by Hals. |
| Description | Includes thirty-three letters exchanged between de Wild, Letitia Simpson, Freddie Menzies, and Charles Henschel, dated 18 July 1927-28 July 1950, concerning the attribution and sale of pictures by artists including Nicolas Lancret, Anthony van Dyck, van Mierevelt, Rembrandt, and Frans Hals. |