This still-life painting was probably painted at Charleston, Duncan Grant’s home in Sussex. The flowers in the picture were probably cut from the garden. They are arranged in a glazed earthenware pitcher probably made in nineteenth-century Spain, which Grant reportedly acquired on a visit to Spain in 1923. The jug is now owned by The Charleston Trust. The jug was used in the composition of certain other still-life paintings, including Still life with tulips and narcissi in a jug.

The address inscribed on the reverse of the canvas, 24 Victoria Square, was Duncan Grant’s pied-à-terre in London from 1961 until 1970. The house was owned by Leonard Woolf and Grant rented a flat on the top floor. This still life was made in 1964. Woolf died four years later in 1968, and it is possible that he owned the painting. It was certainly owned by Leonard’s nephew Cecil Woolf, who lived in the basement and ground floor at Victoria Square, was friendly with Grant, and either acquired the painting by descent from Leonard or directly from the artist.