This is one of a group of 143 state, trial and cancellation proofs of etchings by Lucian Freud (1922-2011) which came from the collection of Marc Balakjian (1938-2017) of Studio Prints. Balakjian was Freud’s printer from 1985 and worked closely with him on the production of his etchings.

This work was one of two etchings made as a response to the painting The Young Schoolmistress by Jean-Siméon Chardin in the National Gallery, London. This version, subtitled 'small plate' to distinguish it from the larger version which showed the whole composition, was made to focus on what Freud described as 'the most beautiful ear in art', and to draw attention to an overlooked detail - the girl's earring.

This is one of three proofs in the V&A collection, and this one is annotated by Marc Balakjian as being identical to the edtion. The difference between the first (unpublished) and second (published) states is that Freud added to the hatched area of background to the right to provide a stronger contrast between the face and the ground.