This naïve painting is based on a detail of the left-hand side of a mezzotint engraving entitled The Shepherds, by William Ward (1766–1826) after a painting by George Morland (1763–1804). The print was published on 1 June 1806 by H. Morland. There is a hand-coloured impression of the print in the Government Art Collection (fig. 1), and an uncoloured impression in the British Museum.¹ The present picture omits a seated male figure to the left of the shepherd, and the two female figures to the right of the standing male figure.