Probably intended for the sitter's husband, Paul Cobb Methuen [1752-1816], Corsham Court, Wiltshire, but possibly neither finished nor delivered. Possibly (Mrs. Gainsborough sale, Christie's, London, 10-11 April 1797, 1st day, no. 12);[1] Caleb Whitefoord [1734-1810]. Paul Sanford Methuen, 3rd baron Methuen [1845-1932], Corsham Court; purchased c.1893 by (Wallis & Son, London); sold 1893 to Peter A.B. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from the Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park; gift 1942 to NGA. [1] Sir Ellis Waterhouse, _Gainsborough_, London, 1958: no. 483, has suggested that this lot, one of a number of unfinished portraits in the sale, may be identical with the Washington picture, a view that is supported by the evidence of the change in format and additions to the canvas, and by the absence of documentation in the Corsham Court archives.