This is one of around sixty drawings of picturesque and architectural subjects that Girtin made for his first patron, the wealthy linen draper James Moore (1762-1799). Moore was a passionate antiquarian and amateur artist who travelled all over Britain gathering material for his publications, which included 'Twenty-five Views in the Southern Part of Scotland' (1794). It was Moore's practice to make sketches of the sites he visited, before commissioning professional artists to work up versions of his drawings for publication. This watercolour of the Abbot's House, part of the Abbey at Kinloss, was probably painted from Moore's sketch in late 1792.