1859, commissioned by George Price Boyce (b. 1826 - d. 1897), Chelsea, England; July 2, 1897, posthumous Boyce sale, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, lot 211, to Dunthorne. 1897, Agnew, London, and Charles Fairfax Murray (b. 1849 - d. 1919), London; 1897, ownership passed fully to Murray; 1906, sold by Murray to Mary Pratt (Mrs. Edward D.) Brandegee (b. 1871 - d. 1956), Brookline; by descent to her daughter, Martina Brandegee Lawrence (b. 1906 - d. 1959), Brookline; by inheritance to her husband, James Lawrence (b. 1907 - d. 1995), Brookline; 1980, gift of James Lawrence to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 18, 1980)

1. Boyce, an architect, painter, and founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite society, was also a close friend and patron of Rossetti. He commissioned this painting from Rossetti on July 23, 1859 and it was completed on October 13. He lent it to the "Exhibition of Old Masters," Royal Academy, London, 1883, cat. no. 309.
2. The name of the buyer is recorded by Algernon Graves, "Art Sales," vol. 3 (London, 1921), p. 104. He may have been an agent for Agnew or Murray.
3. Charles Fairfax Murray was a partner with Agnew and purchased paintings for the firm. According to Barbara Bryant, in "The Age of Rossetti, Burne-Jones, & Watts: Symbolism in Britain, 1860-1910" (exh. cat., Tate Gallery, London 1997), p. 96, cat. no. 2, the painting was owned jointly by Agnew and Murray until 1897, and Murray sold it to Mrs. Brandegee in 1906.

Artist's monogram :

, as Bocca Baciata (Lips That Have Been Kissed)