The Proposition

By candlelight a man offers coins; the young woman does not even raise her eyes — she keeps sewing. Nowhere in Dutch painting is a proposition refused so calmly. Leyster signed with a monogram and a star; while her name slept in the archives, her canvases were sold as Frans Hals.

Part of the 'Erased Masterpieces' curatorial series celebrating women artists restored to art history.