Benjamin West, P.R.A. (Springfield, Pennsylvania 1738-1820 London)

This is one of five drawings of the Senses 'which Mr. West made for the Princess Royal, to make an Etching from'. Two others of the series are known, Sound, also signed and dated 1784 (H. Shickman Gallery, New York 1968) and Smell (sold Sotheby's, London, 11 September 1975, lot 55). They were etched by Charlotte Augusta Matilda (1766-1828), the eldest daughter of King George III, who later became Queen of Wurtemberg. An album of prints assembled by Alexander Bennett in the first half of the 19th Century contains a set of these etchings (British Museum 189b. 23).