Probably either anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 12 April 1920, lot 37, for £73.10 to Coyton;
Or anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 11 June 1920, lot 60, for £109 to Goudstikker;
With Dr. Benedict & Co., Berlin, from whom acquired by August Neuerburg (died 1944), Elbchaussee 77, Hamburg-Blankenese, in September 1929, for 15,000 Reichsmarks;
Thence by descent.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The oak panel is in a good condition with a 1cm horizontal addition long the bottom edge. The paint surface is raised along the horizontal grain and some of these are unstable. Beneath the very degraded and discoloured varnish can be seen small restorations covering previous paint losses and thinnesses, mostly to the sky and along the bottom edge. The paint, overall, is in a good original condition with well preserved texture and impasto. Many of the delicate touches are intact including the vulnerable glazes and scumbles. The tonal improvement gained from the removal of the varnish would be significant. Offered in a burr wood and gilt frame, in good condition."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Apart from some of his early works, few of Van der Neer's more familiar winter landscapes and nocturnes are dated.  The majority of his grander large-scale winter scenes have been dated to the the 1650s, largely on the basis of the costumes of the figures in them, but he must have started to paint winter landscapes before then.  The handling of this picture is comparable to other small-scale ice scenes on panel, such as the one in the Johannesburg Art Museum; one sold in these Rooms, 11 December 1985, lot 101; and one with Richard Green, London.¹  Although it is on canvas, a rare dated small-scale winter landscape from 1662, sold in these Rooms, 8 December 1993, lot 20, may also be compared with to the present work which is however painted with a broader brush.²

Sold with the photostat certificate of Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, dated The Hague June 1920, which states that it was to be included in a planned revised edition of his catalogue raisonné.

1. See W. Schulz, Aert van der Neer, Doornspijk 2002, pp. 132-3, no. 24, pp. 146-47, no. 77, pp. 186-87, no. 213, reproduced figs. 51-53.
2. Idem, p. 146, no. 76, reproduced fig. 50 & colour plate 12.