Commissioned 1825 by the sitter's father, Colonel John Ashe Alston [1783-1831]. Sarah McPherson Alston Middleton [Mrs. John Izard Middleton, 1807-1878], Middleton, South Carolina, sister of the sitter; her son, John Izard Middleton [b. 1834], Baltimore, Maryland; his nephew, John Izard Middleton [b. 1867], New York; purchased 24 October 1922 by Thomas B. Clarke [1848-1931], New York; his estate; sold as part of the Clarke collection 29 January 1936, through (M. Knoedler & Co., New York), to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1947 to NGA.