Burne-Jones was commissioned to paint a pair of paintings, 'The King and the Shepard, and 'The Nativity', for St. John's Church in Torquay. One of the pictures was given by Miss Price and members of a memorial society in memory of a Miss Phelps, and the other was donated by Mr and Mrs Alfred Barton. The pictures were presented to the church in 1888.
A desire to paint on a large scale in public places had been Burne Jones' wish from the beginning of his life as an artist, but unfortunately the murals were the only opportunity, apart from stained glass and tapestries that was given to him. The church was designed by G E street, whom he had known through the time when Morris was his apprentice in 1856-7. Burne Jones also worked for Street on the American church in Rome providing mosaics. The inscription "propter miseriam inopum et gemitum pauperum nunc exsurgam dicit Dominus" translated as "On account of the misery of the needy, and the weeping of the poor, now shall I arise, says the Lord." The East window of the church was filled with Morris & Co. stained glass designed by Burne Jones followed by and angelic hierarchy in the west window in 1890 which made the murals in the chancel part of an overall scheme. A pencil drawing for the composition was sold in Sotheby's New York on 8th November 2012 in which Joseph is standing at the head of the Virgin and Child. The Garman Ryan Collection has a pastel sketch of the composition The positioning and pose of Joseph and the manger display the influence of Botticelli's The Mystic Nativity in the National Gallery, London.