This version, once owned by Lord Overstone, was sold in 1823 for George Watson-Taylor MP for 90 Guineas, and in 1875 was sold by Jesse Watts-Russell MP of Ilam Park in Staffordshire for 750 Guineas, said to be the highest price ever paid for an Opie picture at the time.
[4] Another version, also The Schoolmistress, was owned by the Earl of Stamford, George Harry Grey.
[6] One version, lighter, with the cat shown on the right, was bought by a Dr Earl Wood in 1930 from art dealers Spink and Son, at a cost of $7,500.
[8][9] The other version - darker, with the cat on the left - was for many years part of the Loyd Collection of paintings and drawings at Lockinge near Wantage, Berkshire.
Accepted in lieu of Inheritance Tax by HM Government, it was allocated to Tate Britain in 2020.