I wonder if there is someone who can help me with the following question:

Vermeer was pretty unknown for quite a while after his death until an article was written about him by Theophile Thore (or Thore-Burger) in 1866.  Thore not only wrote about Vermeer, but purchased four of his paintings: "Woman with a Pearl Necklace" (In the National Museum of Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin); "the Concert", Stolen from the Isbella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston; "Young Woman seated at a Virginal" and "Young Woman Standing at a Virginal", both owned by the National Gallery in London.  What I am trying to find out is how much Thore paid for these paintings.

I have pretty much exhausted all of the resources at my disposal.  I have found books which list the paintings that Thore purchased, and lists of provenance listing when and who purchased these paintings, but not how much Thore paid for them. I have written to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. but have not received responses as to whether this information is obtainable.  Is this a possible question to answer?

Thank you,

Michele Missner

Research Librarian

Appleton, Wi.