Anonymous sale, Rotterdam, Van Leen, 25-26 April 1817, lot 35, for 12 florins 5;
Charles Sedelmeyer, Paris;
His sale, Paris, Galerie Sedelmeyer, 27 May 1907, lot 35, for FF1,280 (as dated 1632);
A Noble family, near Salzburg (according to Beck, 1983);
Anonymous sale ('The Property of a Gentlema꧑n'), London, Christie's, 8 Decembౠer 1989, lot 13, for £176,000.

C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné..., vol. VIII, London 1927, p. 282, no. 1125 (as dated 1632);
W. Stechow, Salomon van Ruysdael, Berlin 1938, and 2nd ed. 1975, p. 27;  
H.-U. Beck, Jan van Goyen, vol. II, Katalog der Gemälde, Amsterdam 1973, p. 415, cat. no. 924 (as dated 1632);
H.-U. Beck, Jan van Goyen, vol. III, Ergänzungen..., Doornspijk 1983, p. 251, cat. no. 924, reproduced.
 

The actual colours are deeper and stronger than the catalogue illustration suggests. The panel has an old cradle which is providing good and stable support. The painting has recently been cleaned and restored, and is overall in reasonably good condition. The panel is joined approx 14.5 cms from the upper edge, and there is an old split running parallel and about 1 cm belong the join from the right hand edge to the centre of the panel. Inspection under ultra violet light reveals no major damages, but there has been fairly extensive and very careful recent retouching over the wood grain to cover areas of wear in the sky, notably in the darker parts of the clouds and just above them in the centre. There have also been retouchings to the side of the beached fishing boat and to the figures alongside, and to some damages on the right hand edge. The restoration has been well and carefully carried out and is not visible to the naked eye. The varnish remains clear and even and the painting should not require any further attention. This lot is sold with a modern stained wood frame with a gilt sight edge, in very good condition. RCJ
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

It is not suprising perhaps that this picture was long-thought to date from 1632, since Van Goyen did not greatly alter the composition formulae for his beach scenes between the early 1630s and the early 1640s.  Throughout these years he chose very low viewpoints, with the shoreline on a diagonal to the right, and dunes rising well above the viewer closing the view to the left.  A good example of an early use of this scheme is the Beach at Egmond of 1634, formerly with Waterman, Amsterdam.[1]  This formula was adopted by other Dutch painters of beach scenes, such as Simon de Vlieger.  The colour scheme, however, in which the strict tonality of the earlier years has been replaced with a freer use of a greater variety of colour, notably blue, is much more typical of the years around 1650.

The date on this picture was for many years mis-read as 1632, but it clearly reads 1652.  In Dr. Beck's Van Goyen catalogue raisonné of 1973 it was listed as on the art market in New York in 1964; in his Addendum of 1983 this information is corrected, and it is stated there that it had been in the possession of a a Noble family near Salzburg for "decades". 

[1] See Beck under Literature, 1983, p. 252, no. 926a, reproduced.