Rousseau first exhibited the painting at the 13th Salon des Indépendants and tried unsuccessfully to sell it to the mayor of his home town of Laval. Instead, it became part of the private collection of a Paris coal merchant, where it remained until 1924, when it was discovered by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles. The Paris-based art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler bought the painting in 1924, although controversy arose over its authenticity.
Rousseau first exhibited the painting at the 13th Salon des Indépendants and tried unsuccessfully to sell it to the mayor of his home town of Laval. Instead, it became part of the private collection of a Paris coal merchant, where it remained until 1924, when it was discovered by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles. The Paris-based art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler bought the painting in 1924, although controversy arose over its authenticity.