Provenance

Bequeathed by Francis Towne in 1816 to James White of Exeter (1744–1825), on whose death it passed to Towne’s residuary legatee John Herman Merivale (1779–1844) and his successors. Merivale’s granddaughters Maria Sophia Merivale (1853–1928) and Judith Ann Merivale (1860–1945), both of Oxford, inherited the drawing in May 1915 within a sketchbook containing FT689 to FT714, much or all of which by 1963 was owned by Mr and Mrs Sutton of New Zealand. On 19 June 1963 they sold seventeen drawings from the book, including this one, to the Fine Art Society (no.7772) for £3,750. In 1963 or 1964 the Fine Art Society sold this drawing (no.7772/5) for £450 to Walter Augustus Brandt (1902–1978) and purchased it back again (no.8047) from Hay on 21 July 1964. In 1964 or 1965 they sold it again, for £708 15s. to Sir Claud Humphrey Meredith Waldock (1904–1981). It was sold, perhaps by his estate, at Christie’s on 15 June 1982, lot 124, for £2,000, and was sold by John Spink in 2005 (advertised at £33,000).