Thomas Hennell suffered from an episode of mental illness and was detained as an inpatient first at St John's Hospital, Stone (the building had been Buckinghamshire County Pauper Lunatic Asylum), then at the Maudsley Hospital (at Denmark Hill, London SE5) and finally at Claybury, Essex. Although he was a prolific artist, the present drawing is one of only a few that survive illustrating his mental state: other drawings of his illness were destroyed by his mother after his early death.