This is an E-mail from Holland.  

Let me first compliment you on your nice, informative Sargent-website.  Besides that I like the paintings of this American artist for several years, I have a special reason to send you this message.  . . . 

In October 2000 we went for a short holiday to Belgium, and bought a nice painting from an unknown (by us) artist: L. van Hooren.  
When we returned home we enjoyed the painting, but I couldn't find anything about L. van Hooren in any Dutch or Belgian Art-reference book. But we didn't really care, just looking at the painting was enough.  

Just 10 days ago i watched a television-documentary about an American lady, who collected impressionist paintings and as I understood bought the Monet house in Giverny (France), then I heared her saying something about her owning several 'Sargent studies'. Seeing these studies for a brief moment, I immediatly recognized our own  
L. van Hooren and quikly I wrote down the word Oyster (pickers?).  

Owning Fairbrothers-Sargent-book for several years, I could easily find a b/w picture of the Boston mfa [thumbnail] that is somewhat different, but the composition has a striking similarity with our 'L. van Hooren. I read the book some years ago, and honestly paid more attention to the colour-illustrations, then to the b/w introduction-pages, so I needed a television to get me to read again what I could have known, even before i bought the painting.  

The visit to your web-site brought me another suprise as the 'Corcoran painting' looks (on the jpg) as the same as our painting. The details get lost if you enlarge the picture, so real comparison can't be done, but it looks like that one. It was very nice to be able to dig a little deaper, for your website is in some respects more detailled than an average book.  

Well, Natasha, I've told the story, what do you think of it? The painting in our house is real, but was it the real Sargent who painted it, was the unknown L. van Hooren the painter, or painted by a unknown person with the signature on the painting.  

Hoping to hear from you soon,  
 

From Natasha: 

"Keith", 

What I think you have here (and I'm saying this as my impression only. I obviously welcome anyone else opinion) is a copy of a Sargent done by the artist L. van Hooren similar in kind to Sargent's copies of the Great  masters before him. For example, Sargent copied Velazquez's work: King Philip IV (of Spain), and Head of Aesop. He also copied Frans Hals' work. 

So in other words, L. van Hooren was possibly a student trying to learn from Sargent, or possibly he was commissioned to copy Sargent's work for a patron that obviously couldn't own the original. 

See also Copyists at the Prado 

What I'd recommend is continue to search for the name of your painter and if you can find him (what I believe you will find is probably a painter later than Sargent) then you will have your answer. 

See also  

S A Forbes  
 
Copy After Oyster Gatherers   
Date?  

Note: 
 

• See Oyster Gatherers