Delineated with a tangled skein of rapidly drawn lines, a female figure seems to move in a dance with the same speed with which this sketch was executed. By the middle of the eighteenth century, such spontaneous private sketches had come to be considered a mark of an artist’s genius. Joshua Reynolds, the first president of the Royal Academy, publicly warned his students of the dangers of overindulging in the practice.

George Guy, Earl of Warwick (1818-1893), L.2600; his sale, Christie's (London), 20 - 21 May 1896, lot 322; purchased there by Richards; probably purchased by Colnaghi (London), between 1914 and 1916; Spink & Son (London); purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b, n.d., for £54.50; Witt Bequest 1952

Drawings Gallery Display - Unseen, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 15/01/2015-29/03/2015

catalogue untraced, Eton College, 1950

Two hundred years of British painting, Public Library and Art Gallery, Huddersfield, 16/05/1946-13/07/1946 ...More

Blunt, Anthony, Hand-list of the drawings in the Witt Collection, London, 1956
p. 39

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower right edge, black ink: "Sir. J. Reynolds". Mount (historic), Verso: upper left, graphite: "W"; upper right, brown ink: "No. 2.". Outer front mount (removed, see photo), Recto: lower centre, brown ink: "SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A.". Outer back mount (removed, see photo), Verso: upper left corner, graphite, Colnaghi number: "A1360"; centre, graphite: "Sketch of a woman dancing / By Sir Joshua Reynolds / from Warwick Collection"; lower left corner, red crayon: "458".

Label: Outer back mount (removed, see photo), Verso: upper centre, printed and stamped in red: "HUDDERSFIELD / 1946 / OFFICIAL AGENTS / JAMES BOURLET & SONS, Ltd. / 17-18 Nassau St. London, W.1 / Tel. Nos.: MUSEUM (87)-7588"; lower right, printed in black, probably also from the Hudderfield 1946 exhibition: "JAMES BOURLET & SONS, Ltd., / Fine Art Packers. Frame Makers. / c21927 / 17 & 18. NASSAU ST, / MORTIMER STREET, W. / Phones :-MUSEUM 1871 & 7588.".

Collector's mark: Recto: lower right corner, stamped black: Earl of Warwick (L.2600). Mount (historic), Recto: lower left corner, stamped in black: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).