George Frederic Watts made many works on paper during his lifetime, using different media including pencil, charcoal, ink, and watercolour.

These drawings served many purposes. Some were purely experimental, like his self-portraits. Others were preparatory works for specific paintings or documentation of views and sites, or just for the sake of drawing. Works on paper provided flexibility. They were inexpensive to make, and took much less time to create than finished oil paintings.

Many of George's drawings depict his favourite model, Mary Bartley, known as Long Mary. His drawings of her recorded poses and lighting and were the source for many of his later paintings. Other drawings show him playing with media, using different kinds of chalks and pencils to depict different surfaces and textures. Tiny doodles could become enormous paintings. Watts also carried sketchbooks with him throughout his career, and these capture details of his day-to-day life: his friends, works of art, and notes about what he read.