This seems to be the first of a series of paintings executed by Grimshaw in the 1870s and '80s in which nude or lightly-draped female figures are seen in atmospheric landscapes. In addition to Autumn, they represent Iris, the messenger of the gods; the Spirit of Night (from Shelley); and the goddess Diana hovering over the shepherd Endymion on Mount Latmos. The best-known is probably Iris, of which one version, dated 1886, is in the Leeds Art Gallery, and another was sold in these Rooms on 25 October 1991, lot 34.

The model for the figure of Autumn is said to have been Mrs Rule, the German governess of Grimshaw's children. She returned to Germany in 1879, and was succeeded by the better known Miss Agnes Leefe, a former actress at the Leeds Grand Theatre who, as well as acting as a companion to Mrs Grimshaw and the children, was Grimshaw's studio assistant and model in the 1880s, posing for Iris and other figure compositions of the period.

We are grateful to Alexander Robertson for his help in preparing this catalogue entry.