Three of the sketches on this sheet are for the ageing soldier in Sandys composition 'Autumn.' The completed scene symbolises the three ages of man and depicts the retired soldier reclining on a riverbank, with a woman and a child sitting next to him. sandys has annotated these sketches are inscribed with notes to himself about colour and light distribution in the design.

He produced four complete versions of the subject. Two of these, a small oil painting and a small chalk drawing are part of the Birmingham collection along with a tracing and two other studies for the design. Sandys also produced a large pen and ink drawing, which he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1862, and a large oil (both at Norwich Castle Museum).

The sketch of a barge appears to be unrelated to 'Autumn' but Betty Elzea notes that 'the presence of both figure and barge studies on the same sheet suggests that they were all done on a riverbank' (Frederick Sandys 1829-1904: A Catalogue Raisonné, p. 160).