I'm kicking off a series of lectures introducing various national and international exhibitions by talking about the exhibition at the Wallace Collection inspired by their most famous painting, The Laughing Cavalier. Neither laughing, nor a cavalier, this painting was single-handedly responsible for a revival in Frans Hals' reputation when it was purchased by the 4th Marquis of Hertford - father of the Wallace Collection's founder - for a breath-taking price. We will look at this painting in depth, putting in the context of the other male portraits in the exhibition, not to mention Hals' career as a whole.