Born in Florence of American parents, Sargent studied in Italy and Paris before settling in London in 1886. By the turn of the century he was acclaimed as Britain's greatest portrait painter. He was a close friend of H. B. Brabazon (1821-1906), a watercolourist who achieved considerable fame during the 1890s, largely through Sargent's encouragement. Margaret Davies purchased this painting from the artist's studio sale in 1925.