The drawings in this group relate to Millais's painting The Ransom (1860-62; The Getty, Los Angeles), an emotive 16th-century scene depicting a father handing over payment for the release of his two kidnapped daughters.

Although the drawings date from around 1853, Millais did not paint The Ransom until almost ten years later. This scene is one of two compositions that Millais developed in the early 1850s on the theme of ransomed prisoners returning to their families. These sketches of a father reunited with his daughters were drawn at the same time - and sometimes on the same piece of paper - as sketches for The Order of Release, 1746 (1852-53; Tate Britain) which depicts a Highland soldier freed from prison after the failed 1745 Jacobite rebellion. 'The Ransom' was Millais's working title for both compositions at this time.

All objects in this group