Collection de Knyff et Chéramy
Collection Gillet, Lyon in 1921
Cesar de Hawk, Paris in 1945
Joan Whitney Payson, United States, from 1951
Thence by descent to the present owner

Paris, L'École des Beaux Arts, Exposition de l'œuvre de Corot à l'École nationale des beaux-arts, 1875, no. 220
Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, Exposition organisée au profit du monument du centenaire de Corot : catalogue des chefs-d'œuvre prêtés par les musées de l'État et les grandes collections de France et de l'étranger, May-June, 1895, no. 28 
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Impressionist and Modern Paintings from Private Collections: Summer Loan Exhibition, July 9- September 29, 1957 (the present work entering the exhibition as of July 11 and lent by Mrs. Whitney Payson who possibly loaned the work again in the summer of 1962)

Charles Normand, Ami des monuments et des arts, revue illustrée, Paris, 1895, vol. 9, p. 169
Edward Meynell, Corot and his friends, London, 1908, illustrated p. 70
Alfred Robaut, L'oeuvre de Corot, catalogue raisonné et illustré, Paris, 1965, vol. III, p. 52, no. 1389, illustrated opp. p. 52

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting is unlined. It has recently been cleaned and retouched. Corot seems to have been unusually loose in his application of paint here, and what appears to be a pentiment in the center of the left side has received a few retouches. There are also small retouches that diminish thinness or abrasion in the upper right around the tree and in the tree trunk. In addition, there is a group of restorations in the sky to the immediate left of the figure's head. The reason for these restorations is not structural or paint loss. It is more likely to be a misguided cleaning attempt, which thankfully has only affected isolated areas.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Alfred Robaut includes the following anecdote in his entry (no. 1389):  "L'enfant qui a servi pour cette peinture est la fille de M. Weyl, ancien modèle devenu marchand de tableaux.  Corot a placé dans le fond de sa peinture un arbe accompagné de deux pies, l'une par terre, l'auture sur une branche.  Par ce détail, il voulait faire allusion au bavardage incessant de la fillette, que sa langue trop bien pendue avait fait nommer par ses parents et ses amis: «la petite pie».

Le fond du tableau et, par conséquent, ce petit détail amusant avaient &eac♑ute;té barbouไillés par des mains irrespectueuses; mais on a pu opérer le nettoyage des repeints et remettre le tableau dans son état primitif" (Robaut, p. 52)

"The child who served as the model for this work is the daughter of M. Weyle, himself a former model who became an art dealer.  In the background of the painting, Corot originally placed a tree with two magpies, one on the ground and the other perched on a branch.  With this detail, evoking the noisy bird, Corot wanted to make allusion to the incessant chattering of the little girl, that made her parents and friends call her "la petite pie," or "the little chatterbox."

The background of the painting and consequently this funny detail had been over-painted by someone (a disrespectful hand) who did not under stand the pun; but the removal of this repaint has restored the painting back to its original state" (as translated from the French).

The second💯 bird, with its red beak, 𝓀is now visible on the ground in the left center of the composition.