Paxton Brown was born in Glasgow and studied at the Glasgow School of Art. There she met and became lifelong friends with Jessie M. King, who formerly owned this drawing. It comes from a series of humorous works on paper in which Paxton Brown depicted women artists going about their business. She made her name as a watercolourist, was a key member of the Glasgow Society of Lady Artists’ Club, and regularly showed there and at the Royal Glasgow Institute.