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 733 to 751. 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 bought from the Fine Art Society (no.4065) for £26 5s. by Sir William Worsley, Bt (1890–1973), whose family offered it for sale at Christie’s on 20 November 1984, lot 79, but did not sell. They sold it at Christie’s on 5 June 2003, lot 15, for £2,400, whereafter it is untraced.