The early provenance of this picture is of special interest. Ernest Hochschedé was a rich store owner, who, as a result of one or two disastrous business deals, went bankrupt. He had been one of the very earliest collectors of Impressionist pictures and had sold some of his collection at auction in 1874 with some success. By 1878, however, when he was forced to part with the remainder as well as those pictures which he had bought since, the climate had changed. The sale consisted of five pictures by Manet, twelve by Monet, nine by Pissarro, thirteen by Sisley, three by Renoir and two by Berthe Morisot. It was a disaster. Durand-Ruel, who until that moment had been a staunch supporter, did not bid at all, claiming that he could not afford to do so after the losses he had sustained over the previous three years, although weakening his argument by adding that, even if he had made the smallest gesture of support, he would have increased the anger of the crowd of onlookers who came to mock the proceedings. Oddly enough on a comparative basis, Sisley did less badly than the others, establishing a price level well above that of Pissarro and not far short of Monet. As he wrote to Duret in August 1878, it was a step in the right direction. Alice Hochschedé, Ernest's wife, went to live with Monet at Vétheuil and finally married Monet in 1892 following her husband's death in March of 1891.