Brief aan Frans Buffa en Zonen Possibly 1888

This letter to Frans Buffa en Zonen was written by Willem Bastiaan Tholen in The Hague on June 8th, 1888. It gives us a unique insight into the social world of the late 19th-century Dutch art market. As a commercial enterprise based in Amsterdam, Frans Buffa en Zonen played a key role in mediating between artists and the buying public. Here, Tholen discusses the price of a drawing he has sent them, mentions a painting he heard about in Antwerp, and notes that he has seen some watercolors at Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam’s foremost artists’ society. Tholen’s letter speaks to the institutional networks that shaped artistic careers, and the economic realities that underpinned them. Correspondence such as this helps historians reconstruct these vital connections. By consulting archival records and studying the biographies of artists and dealers, we can better understand the social conditions that shaped the art of the period.