A head and shoulders portrait of King George V (1865-1936), facing half to the left, wearing morning suit against a plain, dark red background.

In May and June of 1920 the King gave a number of sittings to Nowell for a portrait commissioned by The Leys School, Cambridge. In this portrait King George V is depicted seated at a desk, turning towards the viewer. The pose and dress are almost identical to the Royal Collection painting, suggesting that the smaller painting was a study, or a work that developed out of the commission. A label on the reverse bearing a crown and the initial M suggests that it was, perhaps, a gift to Queen Mary from the sitter.

The Royal Collection holds a painting of Queen Mary (1867-1953) by Nowell of an identical size (RCIN 407254). This was presented by the Queen to the Duke of York, later King George VI, in 1934. In 1935 a request was made for the artist to copy the two portraits so they could be given to Brighton Corporation as a Silver Jubilee gift and hang in the Royal Pavilion. However, it was requested that King George V was painted in Admiral's uniform to make a more suitable companion portrait to the Queen (who is depicted in evening dress). The replicas were delivered to Buckingham Palace on the Saturday 14th December 1935 and seen by the King and Queen the following morning, to gain their approval, before being presented to Brighton. The portraits remain at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery.

A three-quarter length portrait of Queen Mary by Nowell, dated 1927, is also in the Royal Collection (RCIN 407416).