The present drawing is a rare and ambitious composition by West, which does not appear to relate to any particular project and is somewhat outside his usual oeuvre. West did execute other pastoral scenes, see H. von Erffa and A. Staley, The Paintings of Benjamin West, New Haven and London, 1986, pp. 411 and 419-20, nos. 436 and 451, but these are both later in date (1789 and 1795 respectively).

We are grateful to Allen Staley for his help in preparing this catalogue entry.