A triptych: the central panel: The Holy Family with an angel; left wing: Saint Catherine of Alexandria; right wing: Saint Barbara

The prime version of the present painting is by Marcellus Coffermans and was previously in the Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, Florida (see Sotheby's, New York, 6 February 2025, lot 304). There are at least fourteen versions by Coffermans and his workshop recorded, attesting to the popularity of the composition. The Virgin sits enthroned in the central panel, dressed in crimson robes, and holds the Christ Child, who reaches for a bunch of grapes - foreshadowing his Eucharistic sacrifice. Seated behind the Virgin, a bespectacled Saint Joseph looks up, as if interrupted while reading from a book resting on a plinth. The rolling landscape beyond unites the three panels. Unlike the larger Bass triptych, which includes Saints Michael and Bartholomew, the Holy Family is here flanked by Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Barbara, perhaps reflecting the wishes of the painting's unknown first owners.

The frame is stamped with the mark of the talented New York City frame maker Maurice Grieve, known as the 'Master of the Roses' for his superior woodworking skills, evident in this elegant frame's openwork and deep-relief carving. Grieve collaborated with the renowned dealer and tastemaker Joseph Duveen to create frames for some of his most illustrious clients, including the Vanderbilts and the Astors. He famously provided the frame for Thomas Gainsborough's The Blue Boy (The Huntington, San Marino, inv. no. 21.1). In addition to frames, his carving can be seen on the ceiling of Grottesman Hall at the New York Public Library and in the homes of Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Carnegie.