Thomas Alexander Ferguson Graham was born in Kirkwall, Orkney but moved to Edinburgh after the death of his father. In January 1855 he enrolled as a student at the Trustees’ Academy where he was a pupil of Robert Scott Lauder (1803-1869). Fellow students under Lauder included William McTaggart, William Quiller Orchardson, John Pettie, and George Paul Chalmers. From the age of twenty Graham undertook a series of trips abroad, often in the company of those he had studied with at the Trustee’s Academy. However, in contrast to the more historicist genre work produced by his friends, Graham deliberately chose modern subjects for his paintings. This painting is a good example of the intimate nature of Graham’s work, created by a relatively small scale, showing attention to detail and using subtle gradations of light and shade. Graham first exhibited at the Scottish Academy in 1859 and continued to do so regularly from 1867. In 1883 he was elected an honorary member of the Royal Scottish Academy. He also showed at the British Institution and the Royal Academy after he settled in London in 1863.