Fitzwilliam work list: 1883... also I worked upon the first smaller picture of Fortune's Wheel 1885 ... finished the Autumn the picture in oil of Fortune's Wheel which was the first of that subject, - it stood unfinished for many years - and I made changes in it from the greater picture which Balfour has The Fitzwilliam account list does not mention the inception of the smaller oil version and it was put aside in favour of the larger version (D'Orsay) and would appear to have been taken up again and finished concurrently. The idea for the setting varies from the beginning in the Troy series, at first the Wheel appears in the sky (suggested by clouds around Fortune's feet in the Troy triptych). Then trees and rocks appear (Melbourne) and possible the last addition was the architecture ( D'Orsay). The rendering of the drapery and cap are simpler in the present version.