Turner is seen here probably in his mid to late forties, between his two journeys to Venice of 1819 and 1833. An informal study which borders on caricature, it shows him standing before an easel, clutching his palette and working on a canvas. It is difficult to date precisely: Allan may have met Turner during his visit to Scotland in 1818, and almost certainly saw him in 1822 and 1831. The inscription on this drawing states that Sir William Allan was President of the Royal Scottish Academy. The drawing belonged to the painter and pioneering photographer, David Octavius Hill.