A rare 17th-century still life by Dutch Golden Age painter Maria van Oosterwijck sold for €406,400 ($477,000) at Christie’s Paris, nearly three times its high estimate, during the auction of the Stern family collection. The painting, titled *A bunch of fruit, berries and flowers hanging in a niche*, achieved the second highest auction price ever for the artist, who is believed to have produced only about 30 works in her lifetime.
The strong result highlights growing collector interest in Old Master works by women artists, especially those with limited surviving output. Van Oosterwijck’s rarity and historical significance—she was a recognized female painter in the Dutch Golden Age with patrons including Emperor Leopold I—underscore the market’s appetite for museum-quality pieces from distinguished collections like that of the Stern family, which had not been on the market for decades.