Provenance: Mr. Bryant, Bristol; (his sale, Bristol, 27 April 1848); purchased by Humphry Willyams [1792-1872], Carnanton House, Mawgan-in-Pydar, Cornwall.[1] Joseph H. Carter [1862-1937], London, in 1896/1898 or later;[2] by descent in his family; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 19 April 1985, no. 43); (Richard Green Fine Art, London); sold 1985 to Maida and George Abrams, Newton, Massachusetts; purchased through (Sotheby's, New York) March 2020 by NGA.
[1] _Catalogue of the Antient [_sic_] and Modern Pictures in the Collection of Humphry Willyams, Esq. at Carnanton, Cornwall_, London, 1871: 92, no. 38. According to this self-published catalogue, Willyams purchased two other paintings at the 1848 sale, and he also gives the sale date as April 23. Mr. Bryant and his sale have yet to be identified.
[2] Carter was a British painting conservator, dealer, and artist. A label on the reverse of the panel includes the address (58 Bond Street) at which he appears in London trade directories, and also includes the notation of catalogue number 203. Carter was also known as J. Purves Carter, the "Purves" being his mother's maiden name. For a detailed biography, see: https://www.npg.org.uk/research/programmes/directory-of-british-picture-restorers/british-picture-restorers-1600-1950-c, accessed 28 May 2020.