Provenance

Bequeathed by the artist 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 FT733 to FT751. Probably the book was among the “two small sketchbooks and five small drawings late in date” that Judith Merivale sold to Squire Gallery in 1945 for £50. On 29 August 1945 it was sold by the Fine Art Society (no.4066) for £26 5s. to Sir William Worsley, Bt (1890–1973), who sold it to Agnew’s (no.8090) on 13 January 1968 with 137, 432, 881b (no.0903), where it was bought on 15 February 1968 by a collector who sold it back to Agnew’s (no.6578) on 11 February 1980. Agnew’s sold it on 2 February 1984.