The Duchess of Bedford, rubbing her ankle after a sprain

Georgiana, Duchess of Bedford (1781-1853), was one of Landseer's closest friends and most frequent sitters, particularly for informal and intimate sketches such as the present drawing. Having first met in 1823 when Georgiana's husband, the 6th Duke of Bedford, commissioned Landseer to paint a portrait of her, the two were extremely close for the rest of her life, with Landseer regularly staying at the Duchess's summer home, The Doune, near Aviemore.

The stamp 'Invergarry' on the sheet refers to a part of the considerable estate owned by another Landseer's great patrons, Edward Ellice and the drawing may well have been made when he was staying with Edward Ellice at his hunting lodge, Glenquoich Lodge.