This watercolour has many of the hallmarks of Towne’s distinctive style, and has sometimes been attributed to him. On close examination, however, it is clear that certain elements, particularly the sky and the figures, are too clumsily painted to be by Towne. It is possible that Towne made a pencil underdrawing and gave a pupil the task of adding coloured washes.

Literature: FT899 in the Paul Mellon Centre’s online catalogue raisonné of the works of Francis Towne (where attributed to the Circle of Francis Towne)

Provenance: Colnaghi, January 1947, from whom purchased by Geoffrey Cross; Mellors & Kirk, Nottingham, July 2010, lot 893, where purchased by Adam Crick (1957-2016); bequest of Adam Crick to Winchester College, 2016