Coloured chalks, 29 by 22 cm (11 ¼ by 8 ¾ ins)                                                         

Provenance: The Cecil Beaton Studio Sale, Christie’s, South Kensington, 21^st June 1989, lot.164 (part)

This sensitive pastel was originally contained within a drawing pad that included Beaton’s set and costume designs for the 1952 ballet Picnic in Tintagel. A Frederick Ashton production for New York City Ballet, this work incorporated music by Arnold Bax (including his eponymous tone poem, Tintagel). It is not known whether the sitter here relates to the production.