It was the second of two paintings inspired by the 17th century poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" by Robert Herrick which begins: Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.

Lost for nearly a century, this painting was later located in an old Canadian farmhouse.

In 1973, a couple was buying the farmhouse and asked its previous owners to keep the painting, which they admired, within the house.

Although the new owners knew it was a Waterhouse artwork, they had no idea of its worth or even that it was missing.

[1] The artwork was valued at $1.75–2.5 million by Sotheby's prior to auction in April 2007, although the painting went unsold.