By the age of 26, William Wyld had selected the artistic metropolis of Paris as his lifelong residence and had opened his own studio there. In 1833, he joined his friend and colleague Horace Vernet (1789-1863) and traveled with him for several months through Spain, Italy, and Algeria. The experiences he gained through this expedition shaped Wyld throughout his life, and each exotic colour and motive served him for years after his return as a nearly inexhaustible pool of ideas. Accordingly, in 1835 he published a series of lithographs entitled Voyage Pittoresque dans la Régence d’Alger pendant l’Année 1833.
A watercolour of an Algerian merchant in front of his shop comparable to our drawing is located in the collection of the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester.