In 1953, Reg Wright, the Gallery curator, found this painting underneath another work by Philpot. Presumably, the artist had simply stretched a second canvas over the top, thinking that this picture was worthless. It is a study for a larger painting entitled 'Under the Sea'. Reg Wright, not the artist, chose the title 'The Pearl'. After Philpot ‘s death, his sister Daisy wrote to Wright: ‘How kind of you to send me such a lovely photo of “The Pearl” ... I should imagine it was painted in the early months of 1914. We were in Venice when my brother began “Under the Sea”, but the war cut short our intended long stay there, & we returned in a crowded refugee boat with the painting packed up in our luggage.’ Glyn Philpot achieved considerable success in his twenties and thirties as a painter of grand, traditional society portraits.