(John Smith, London); sold 4 August 1836 to the Marquesses of Lansdowne, London and Bowood, Wiltshire;[1] sold by Lord Landsowne in January 1967 to (Thos. Agnew & Sons, London);[2] purchased January 1967 by NGA. [1] This information comes from the account books of John Smith, where the citation refers to "No. 1296, Portrait of a Merchant (highly finished) Q. Messys." The painting was sold to the 3rd Marquess for 100 pounds. See e-mail of 6 March 2018 from Francis Russell, who kindly sent the information to NGA curator David Brown, in NGA curatorial files. [2] The painting was first exhibited in 1866; London, British Institution, 1866, _Exhibitions of Works by Ancient Masters_, no. 70. The citation was provided by Lorne Campbell. The date of the exhibition is sometimes erroneously given as 1886. Acquisition and sales date per Stockbook no. 5664, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London.